The person behind the design of the euro coins

always held the euro coin in your hand and wondered, who came up with the design ? Meet Luc Luycx, the interior designer of the euro coins and advocate of a unite Europe . Mould, diameter, drawing, bas-relief. A strange association of words, so far behind them we find one of the symbols of Europe : the euro. The man behind the blueprint of the reverse side of the series of eight euro coins is Luc Luycx, a belgian mint designer and advocate of a unite Europe. Twenty years after the euro entered into circulation, we look back at his report and how he came to design the single currency of the then 19 Member States of the European Union.

Your art is very popular. Very few designers in the world can claim with certainty that their work has been replicated 130 billion times! Yet, that is the number of euro coins currently in circulation — and they are seen on a daily basis by 340 million citizens living in the European Union. How did you come up with the design for the coins? The fact that this project is linked to the European Union truly motivated me from the very beginning. I began the integral creative process by reflecting on Europe ’ second achievements and goals. I started to draw my first sketches based just on the map of Europe, while keeping in mind the notion of the continent ’ south permanent wave development. In 1996, the euro area Member States decided that all euro coins would have a common European side, while the other side would be reserved for national designs. They decided to organise a competition, which you won with your series. Can you tell us more about the competition? I enjoy being creative and I love my job, hence the justification for taking contribution in the competition ; it made complete smell to me. Coins have always played an authoritative part in my biography : second then, like now, I was working as a designer for the Royal Mint of Belgium. angstrom soon as I signed up for the competition, the venture began. I received a solid series of recommendations and then proceeded to sketch my first drafts, in color and in 2D, on A4 newspaper, respecting the diameter of 15 centimeter for the coins. I then sent my final draft to the Royal Mint of Belgium and it was submitted to a choice display panel. My draw and those of two other candidates were selected at the national level in Belgium. Designing of the bas-reliefs — poultice casts of each coin — could then begin anterior to the following degree of the rival. There were actually 36 projects selected from all over Europe. I designed a full of ten bas-reliefs comprising the 8 currentness values plus the second copy of the €1 and €2 coins where a space had to be left for the possible addition of a hologram as a security measure. My casts were then certified by a notary who had been specially appointed for the contest. He was the only person involved in the rival who knew the identity of the designers as the unharmed process was highly confidential. All the casts of the bas-reliefs were then submitted at european level by the notary. After that I didn ’ t receive any more news program about the competition for closely a year. How did you feel when you found out that it was your drawings that had been selected? I last learned that I had won the rival in 1997, just before the Amsterdam Summit, where, after a long wait lasting respective months, the €2 coin was ultimately uncover. It was a Monday. I was invited to attend the peak and I accepted without even knowing that I was the winner. I heard the official announcement when I got into the car that picked me up to take me to Amsterdam. I couldn ’ metric ton believe my ears when I heard. I honestly didn ’ metric ton think that I would win the rival. I was aware that thirty-six projects had been submitted and I truly thought that my chances of winning were moment. I was already very gallant to have designed one of the three projects selected at national flat in Belgium. Never in my wildest dream did I imagine that I would get thus far in the competition. Can you tell us more about the design features of the euro coins? What do they represent and what were the main problems you encountered when preparing your design? I had a clear string in mind, which wasn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate excessively ‘ interfering ’ and was easily recognizable, based on the map and objectives of Europe. I divided the set of eight coins into three groups to demonstrate how the map of the continent has changed. The bearing was to propose three drawings that were different yet complementary color. On the 1 penny, 2 penny and 5 penny coins, I depicted Europe as it appears on the ball. The 10 penny, 20 penny and 50 penny coins depicted the Member States at that prison term, but had not so far joined, to portray the idea of a jigsaw… a separation. last, the trope of a unite Europe appeared on the €1 and €2 coins, depicting the map as it is today.

Do the coins contain special features to combat counterfeiting? Can you tell us more about this issue? Did you decide on those features yourself? The security aspect was dealt with well after the planning of the designs. It was not function of the plan choice criteria for the competition. It is the National Anti-Counterfeit Committee ( CNAC ) which handles these specific features. In any character, it would have been very unmanageable, if not impossible, to create a security system on a bas-relief which could subsequently be reproduced to perfection. The security system features are created using lasers and state-of-the-art equipment which reproduce with complete accuracy the system established for each coin. The rim of each of the coins has its own specific features. On the €1 and €2 coins, for exemplar, features of the rim include stars, a description and a line. The out edge of the 20 cent coin is not actually round ; it has indentations. Preparing a mould for coins which are to be reproduced billions of times must be a painstaking exercise with zero margin for error. Did you encounter any difficulties when preparing the final designs? Did the euro area Member States have any input on the details? angstrom soon as I won the rival, I was nobelium longer the owner of the coins. From then on it was Europe that deal with the diverse requests for changes. I was busy working on the invention of the inverse side of the coins. These were then sent to the relevant countries. Each Member State then produced original moulds with their own national mint punctuate. Some Member States asked to redefine their borders on certain coins. The borders of some countries were therefore redrawn in slightly more contingent to make them arsenic accurate as possible. That is how the invention of each mint was finetuned. You still work for the Royal Mint of Belgium. Did you also draw up the national sides of any of the euro coins? Which ones? Are you still actively involved in the design of coins and, if so, are you working on an interesting project? King Philippe has been on the reverse english of our belgian national mint for six years now. I was the one who did the draw. The coin had to be designed when the former Prince Philippe became King. There wasn ’ thyroxine a contest to do that blueprint because the request was pressing and the timeframe in truth close. I prepared three designs, each of which was shown to the King, and I then produced the matchless that he chose. These days I am constantly working on new projects : medals, commemorative coins, coins with the portrayal of Tintin, etc. Looking over your entire career in the coin industry, which of the coins you designed is your favourite? The euro without a doubt. I enjoy everything I do. Be it a €1 mint or a keepsake, I get precisely the like joy from the creative process. But if I had to choose my favorite tie from the eight coins of the competition, my heart would lean towards the €1 and €2 coins because the very essence of their design is based on the objectives of Europe, and represents a unite Europe. One last word on the euro: how do you see its future?

I am in favor of a unite Europe ; that is how it should be and how it must remain. I believe that the euro is fundamental to the preservation of a unite Europe. At the conclusion of the day, we are still stronger in concert than apart. Images ©EC Audiovisual portal vein See more:

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Category : Economy