The Berlin Wall literally separated a nation and, symbolically, divided the world until it fell down 30 years ago.

The Monnaie de Paris has issued a circulating commemorative €2 coin to celebrate the 30th anniversary of freedom coming to East Germany.

Inside Coin World: Mint mark key to identifying counterfeit: A fake 1913-S Buffalo nickel, foreign coins pulled from Roosevelt dime rolls and 1873 Seated Liberty half dollars are column topics in the March 11, 2019, issue of Coin World.

Beyond the impact on German society, the fall of the Berlin Wall was an event with global consequences. 

On Nov. 9, 1989, this occasion marked the end of the cold war and announced an appeasement after several decades of international tensions. 

At the European level, it was the first step toward the reunification of one of the leading countries of the European Union.

The obverse of the coin presents the Berlin Wall, opened in its center, letting doves (an international allegory of peace) and the jubilant crowd pass through. 

In the background is Berlin’s symbol, the Brandenburg Gate. 

An inscription translating to “30 years of the fall of the Berlin Wall/30 Jahre Mauerfall” appears, graffiti-style on one section of the wall. At the bottom of the design is the year 2019 and at its right the indication of the issuing country RF (standing for République Française).

In total, 10 million coins were released beginning Jan. 31. 

The ringed-bimetallic coin has a copper-nickel core and copper-aluminum-nickel ring.

The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag. The common reverse shows a map of the European Union.

The €2 coin weighs 8.5 grams and measures 25.75 millimeters in diameter. 
Each nation is allowed to issue up to two different circulating commemorative designs annually, with designs of their choosing, though few nations issue the maximum number of designs.

Joint euro programs like the 2015 coins honoring the 30th anniversary of flag of the European Union do not count toward this limit.

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