Circulating Coinage
Circulating Coinage
The manufacture of metal coinage (both circulating and collector coins) is one of the most important production lines at the FNMT-RCM. As the direct successor of the former Madrid Mint, whose earliest historic references date back to the 15th century, the Minting Department is, of all the company's departments, the most deep-rooted in tradition. Responsible for the minting of coins for the Spanish Treasury, the FNMT-RCM also works for any country, company or organization who requests it.
Minting process
The manufacturing process for circulating coins constitutes a perfect symbiosis between the centuries-old art of engraving, the minting process itself, and the most advanced industrial processes. Advanced with regard to technology and materials management, traceability, robotics and automation, the end purpose being to furnish the coins with the utmost quality and security.
The final configuration of the product is obtained when the metal blank conforms to the shapes of the obverse die, the reverse die and the collar, at the precise moment of striking, under of the pressure transmitted by the movement of the dies.
Commemorative coins
As from the year 2004 the member states of the E.U. have been given authorization to issue and release a 2-Euro commemorative coin per year, with a different face to that of the coins designed for circulation. These coins are legal tender throughout the Euro zone. Euro coins not intended for circulation are known as collector coins.
In figures
- Euro coin production per struck date 2001-2022 (PDF - 83 KB)
- Euro coin production per struck date 2005-2022 (2 Euros Commemorative) (PDF - 108 KB)
- Eurosets and Proof Eurosets sales per year 1999-2022 (PDF - 76 KB)
- 40-Euro/ 30-Euro / 20-Euro / 12 Euro coins production 1994-2022 (PDF - 91 KB)
Regulations and links
- European Central Bank - Coins in Euros
- European Commission - New designs 2010
- Bank of Spain: Commemorative and Collectors Coins
Technology and Innovation
The FNMT-RCM has the capability to apply state-of-the-art design and manufacturing techniques in order to achieve maximum quality and efficiency, and to provide the coins with the most highly effective security features.
An example of innovation in security features is the Latent Image, one of our patented in-house developments that has been successfully applied in circulating coinage of countries like the UK, Japan and Russia. The latent image consists of two alternating images that change depending on the angle at which it is viewed.
Recently, the FNMT-RCM has developed the Quadruple Latent Image, which consists of four images (instead of 2) that are hidden in a particular area of the coin, and can be view depending on the incidence of light.
