Euro Starter Kits

Euro starter kits are packs of euro coins of all the eight denominations sealed in a plastic bag. The scope of these kits is primarily to familiarise the citizens of that nation that is going to join the eurozone with the new currency, the euro. Another objective is to fill up cash registers well in advance of E-Day. Usually these kits are available from the local banks some weeks before the euro changeover.

Most countries limited the availability of starter packs to one per person, although some countries may have allowed slightly more. There was a danger that if they were handed out in unlimited quantities to individuals, the supplies could run out, and this would have disrupted the education programme.

Mainly there are two types of starter packs; business starter kits and kits for the general public. The difference is in the amount of the coins per pack. Business kits are intended for retailers, thereby they contain around 100 euro or more of coins and are normally contained in rolls, whereas, the mini-starter kits are intended for the general public and usually these kits have a small volume of coins.

San Marino was the only country not to issue a euro starter kit.

Image of Andorra starter kit
Andorra

The Andorran Starter Kit was issued in December 2014, priced at 3,88 euros. It contains 8 coins. .The Andorran government put in place a system of distribution of the starter-kits (actually a booklet that contains an annual divisional series) so that the country's residents would gain priority over non-resident buyers. The smallest denomination ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2014 Starter kit N/A € 3.88 View
Image of Austria starter kit
Austria

The Austrian Starter Kit was issued on 5 December 2001, priced at 200,07 ATS rounded to 200 ATS. It contains 33 coins. Austria chose to produce a series of coins illustrating flowers, architecture and famous people from its history. The designs were chosen by a national panel and public opinion poll. All designs are by the hand of Josef Kaiser and ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2002 6,000,000 pieces € 14.54 View
Image of Belgium starter kit
Belgium

The Belgian Starter Kit was priced at BEF 500 and contains 29 coins. Belgium became a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957, and Brussels is home to many key European institutions, including the European Commission and the European Parliament. The Belgian euro coins feature only a single design for all eight coins. the portrait ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2002 5,300,000 pieces € 12.40 View
Image of Cyprus starter kit
Cyprus

The Cypriot Starter Kit was issued on 3 December 2007, priced at CYP 10. It contains 47 coins. Cyprus together with Malta joined the eurozone on 1 January 2008. According to the Eurobarometer survey, more than 70% of the citizens who had bought a mini-kit opened it and used the coins after the changeover while some 20% kept it untouched. As from ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2008 250,000 pieces € 17.09 Buy
Image of Estonia starter kit
Estonia

The Estonian Starter Kit was issued on 1 December 2010 and includes 42 coins. Estonia joined the eurozone on 1 January 2011 and it was the 17th member state of the eurozone. The starter kits were produced for the Bank of Estonia by Finnish Rahapaja Oy (co-financed by the European Commission) and they also contain a security chip confirming the authenticity ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2011 600,000 pieces € 12.79 Buy
Image of Finland starter kit
Finland

The Finnish Starter Kit was issued on 1 January 2002. It contains 8 coins. Finnish euro coins have three designs, though two of them are each found on one coin only. Heikki Haivaoja was the designer of the Finnish euro coins for the minor and middle series of coins. Pertti Makinen is the designer of the Finnish 1 euro coin and Raimo Heino is the ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2002 500,000 pieces € 3.88 View
Image of France starter kit
France

The French Starter Kit was issued on 14 December 2001, priced at FRF 100. It contains 40 coins from the years 1999, 2000 and 2001. France was not just one of the founders of the European Union but also was one of the first countries to adopt the euro. French euro coins have three different designs; the minor series was designed by Fabienne Courtiade, ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2002 53,000,000 pieces € 15.25 View
Image of Germany starter kit
Germany

The German Starter Kit was issued on 17 December 2001, priced at DM 20. It contains 20 coins. Although many Germans were sorry to see the Deutschmark go, the starter kits were extremely popular with the public – so popular that in many places they sold out on the first day. German euro coins have three separate designs for the three series of coins. ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2002 - Mintmark A 12,100,000 pieces € 10.23 View
2002 - Mintmark D 11,600,000 pieces € 10.23 View
2002 - Mintmark F 12,100,000 pieces € 10.23 View
2002 - Mintmark G 8,100,000 pieces € 10.23 View
2002 - Mintmark J 9,600,000 pieces € 10.23 View
Image of Greece starter kit
Greece

The Greek Starter Kit was priced at GRD 5,000. It contains 45 coins. All the coins included in the Greek Starter Kit were minted in France (1, 2, 5, 10, 50 cents with the mintmak "F"), Finland (1, 2 euros with the mintmak "S" for Suomi) and Spain (20 cents with the mintmark "E" for Espana). Greek euro coins feature a unique design for every one ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2002 - Mintmark FES 3,000,000 pieces € 14.67 Buy
Image of Ireland starter kit
Ireland

The Irish Starter Kit was issued on 4 December 2001, priced at IEP 5. It contains 19 coins. The Irish euro coins share the same design by Jarlath Hayes, that of the harp, a traditional symbol for Ireland since the Middle Ages, based on that of the Brian Boru harp, housed in Trinity College, Dublin. The same harp is used as the official seals of ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2002 750,000 pieces € 6.35 Buy
Image of Italy starter kit
Italy

The Italian Starter Kit was priced at ITL 25,000. The Italian Starter Kit comes in two variations; one has text printed on the bag, whereas, the other does not. It includes 53 coins. Italian euro coins have a design unique to each denomination, though there is a common theme of famous Italian works of art from one of Italy's renowned artists. Each ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2002 30,000,000 pieces € 12.91 View
Image of Latvia starter kit
Latvia

The Latvian Starter Kit was issued on 10 December 2013, priced at 10 LVL (14,23 euros) It contains 45 coins. Latvian euro coins depict the folk maiden on the national side of the one-euro and two-euro coins, whereas the 50-, 20- and 10-euro cent coins feature the great coat of arms of Latvia and the 5-, 2- and 1-euro-cent coins the small coat of ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2014 600,000 pieces € 14.23 View
Image of Lithuania starter kit
Lithuania

The Lithuanian Starter Kit was issued on 1 December 2014, priced at 40 litas (11,59 euros). It contains 23 coins. Lithuanian euro coins bear the symbol of the Lithuanian national emblem Vytis, as was the wish of the majority of the Lithuanian population. This wish was discovered through a public opinion survey made by the Bank of Lithuania, which, ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2015 900,000 pieces - View
Image of Luxembourg starter kit
Luxembourg

The Luxembourgish Starter Kit was priced at LUF 500. Because Belgium and Luxembourg were already in a pre-existing currency union, apart from the different text on the bag and the different national side, the Starter Kits of the two countries are exactly the same, including 29 coins. Luxembourg euro coins feature three different designs, though ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2002 600,000 pieces € 12.40 View
Image of Malta starter kit
Malta

The Maltese Starter Kit was issued on 10 December 2007 priced at LM 5, and includes 34 coins. The selection of the designs of the Maltese coins was decided by public consultation in two rounds. During the second phase, running from 29 May until 9 June 2006, the public was asked to choose the actual designs for the euro coins from the four mock ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2008 330,000 pieces € 11.65 View
Image of Monaco starter kit
Monaco

Despite not being a member of the European Union, in 1999 Monaco also adopted the euro. The country issued a starter kit in late in 2001, priced at Fr 100. The design of the Monaco euro coins feature HSH Prince Rainier III designed by Pierre Rodier (EUR 2), a double portrait of HSH Prince Rainier III and HSH Hereditary Prince Albert designed by Henri ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2001 51,200 pieces € 15.25 View
Image of Netherlands starter kit
Netherlands

The Dutch Starter Kit was priced at NLG 25. The Netherlands issued two different starter kits, intended to educate its citizens about the euro. One contained one of each coin and was distributed in a card. This was distributed to the citizens of the Netherlands for free. Packaged, mint condition cards have since become collector items. Additional bags ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2002 8,800,000 pieces € 12.35 View
2001 N/A - View
Image of Portugal starter kit
Portugal

The Portuguese Starter Kit was issued on 17 December 2001, priced at PTE 2005 and includes 34 coins. Portuguese euro coins show three different designs for each of the three series of coins, representing the first Portuguese King, D. Afonso Henriques. However, they are quite similar in that all contain old royal mints and seals within a circle ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2002 1,000,000 pieces € 10.00 Buy
Image of Slovakia starter kit
Slovakia

The Slovak Starter Kit was issued on 1 December 2008 , priced at SKK 500,09 (rounded down to SKK 500) and includes 45 coins. People waited in long lines in the Slovak Post branches, local commercial banks and National Bank of Slovakia, where the starter kits were available for purchase. Almost 90% of the Slovak starter kits were sold in the first ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2009 1,200,000 pieces € 16.60 View
Image of Slovenia starter kit
Slovenia

The Slovene Starter Kit was issued on 15 December 2006, priced at SIT 3000,30 and includes 43 coins. Slovenia was the first country to join the eurozone out of the 10 new member states that joined the European Union in 2004. The Solvene euro coins are the first to feature a new common side, with a new map of Europe on the bicoloured and Nordic-gold ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2007 450,000 pieces € 12.52 View
Image of Spain starter kit
Spain

The Spanish Starter Kit was issued on December 15 2001, priced at ESP 1999,96 (rounded up to ESP 2.000) and includes 43 coins. Spain was one of the first countries to join the eurozone. In April 1998 the Spanish Prime Minister unveiled the designs chosen for the national side of the Spanish coins. the 1 and 2 euro coins bear the effigy of King ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2002 23,000,000 pieces € 12.02 View
Image of Vatican starter kit
Vatican

The smallest independent nation in the world, the Vatican City, issued another starter kit in September 2011, which includes 8 coins. This unexpected release may be the result of the "obligation" of circulating coins made by the European Union to the micro-states of the eurozone. The sculptor, Daniela Longo is credited with the design of the ...
Year Mintage Issue Price Shop
2011 - Second Kit N/A € 3.88 View
2002 - First Kit 1,000 pieces € 3.88 View