Cyprus celebrates ancient city's remains with €2

By Jeff Starck

Published: Oct 23, 2017, 3 AM

Cyprus will issue on Nov. 3 a circulating 2017 commemorative €2 coin to celebrate its ancient city of Paphos, a World Heritage site with remarkable ancient remains, as a European Capital of Culture for 2017.

Coin image courtesy of the Central Bank of Cyprus.

Cyprus has announced plans to issue on Nov. 3 a circulating 2017 commemorative €2 coin to celebrate a European city being lauded for its cultural events.

The town of Paphos has been named the European Capital of Culture for 2017, an honorary title that rotates among EU-member nations (prior capital of culture awardees have also issued €2 coins).

Designer abandoned original reverse design late in the process Also in our Oct. 30 issue, Mike Diamond presents an interesting question in his Collectors’ Clearinghouse column: How many errors can one coin have?

The national side (obverse) of the coin depicts the Paphos Ancient Odeon, an amphitheater dating back to the second century A.D. The site is among the most important monuments of Paphos, having been used during ancient times as the venue of cultural events. Today it is used for musical and theatrical performances.

The issuing country’s name rendered as ?????S KIBRIS and the phrase ??f?? 2017 — ????t?st??? p??te???sa ????p?? (translating to: Paphos 2017 — European capital of Culture) are inscribed on the inner part of the national side of the coin, which was designed by George Stamatopoulos.

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

The coin’s outer ring on both sides 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 may 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.

The coin has a mintage limit of 430,000 pieces, with 418,000 available in 25-count rolls. An additional 5,000 Proof and 7,000 Brilliant Uncirculated examples are designated for collector sales at a premium.