Ireland
| Ireland Éire | ||
|---|---|---|
Ireland joined the eurozone in 2002, however they did not mint any collectors' coins until 2003. Ireland has kept its issues to the very minimum with one or two coins per year. The record was reached in 2008, when four coins where issued.
The vast majority of the Irish coins are made of silver, only since 2006 Irish euro collectors' coins have been seen in gold. In 2003, a very special coin was issued, the only one with a face value of €5 minted so far, and the only one made of two colors (not to be confused with bimetal coins), using alloys of other materials. This coins was issued commemorating the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games hosted in Ireland; it was the biggest mint ever with 60,000 coins released.
In general, Ireland mint coins with very low face value, but because of the rarity of their gold coins, they are quoted in the market at very high values.
Read more about this topic: Euro Gold And Silver Commemorative Coins
Famous quotes containing the word ireland:
“Come, fix upon me that accusing eye.
I thirst for accusation. All that was sung.
All that was said in Ireland is a lie
Breed out of the contagion of the throng,
Saving the rhyme rats hear before they die.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Sport and death are the two great socializing factors in Ireland ...”
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)
“The tragedy of Northern Ireland is that it is now a society in which the dead console the living.”
—Jack Holland (b. 1947)