The Slovakian central bank has presented ten possible euro coin designs - and now people can vote on what they like best. Until the end of the week (20-Nov) they can pick one or more of these:

http://hlasovanie.nbs.sk/
(Description in Slovakian only; click a coin to get a larger image)

Voting is possible via phone, SMS or web. I do not understand the language, so I don't know how many different designs there will be on the future coins. Note that the designs show the year 2009 but such dates should be taken with care. Interesting (though not really surprising) is that most of the proposed designs can be found on the current coins from Slovakia:

http://www.nbs.sk/MENA/BEZMIN/INDEXA.HTM
(text in English; scroll to the bottom to view the current pieces, and click on any to get an enlarged view)

Christian

Ooh, I like a few of those.

Just a cultural difference here I guess, can you imagine having all those religious symbols or figures on your own coinage in your country?

Two Madonna designs, one with St. Cyril and St Methodius, the crosses etc. Interesting.

Of course not. But I don't live in Slovakia, nor in any other country that puts religious references on circulation coins. I guess that most of the proposed Slovakian designs were picked for "continuity" reasons; many other (present and future) euro countries did that too.

As for the number of different designs, I sure hope for eight. But then it would be odd to have only ten proposals to choose from. So maybe they want to have three different designs only. We'll see ...

Christian

The Madonna and Cyril/Methodius perhaps are a bit much, but the two-bar cross is a part of the national flag. Then again, Russia and UK both have St George on certain modern coins. I am sure Cyril and Methodius had more historical influence on Slovakia than George ever did on the UK.

The decision has been made ...

The "copper" coins (1, 2, 5 ct) will show the "Krivan" mountain. Design: Drahomir Zobek.
The "Nordic Gold" coins (10, 20, 50 ct) will feature Bratislava Castle. Design: Ján Cernaj and Pavol Karoly.
The "bimetallic" coins (€1, €2) will show the national symbol, the double cross above three mountain tops, that is also on the country's flag. Design: Ivan Rehak.

Images of the winning designs are here:
http://www.nbs.sk/PRESS/PLAGAT_A_3.PDF

The Slovakian korun joined the Euro Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM-II) on 28 November, by the way, with the default fluctuation band of +/- 15 percent.

Christian

That is exactly (with the exception of the €1 and €2 coins) the pattern that I like the most. 1,2,5 = the same design; 10,20,50 = the same design, and then the €1 its own and €2 its own design. In this Slovak example, the €1 and €2 actually work well. In general, however, I would prefer the €1 and €2 being different.

Neat concept because it corresponds to the three (or four, depending on how you count the €1 and €2 pieces) different alloy/color groups. As a collector I do of course prefer eight different designs.

Ceterum censeo ... designing 1 and 2 ct coins is a waste of time. Yesterday morning I was in the Netherlands, and for some reasons had several small "copper" pieces with me. So I wanted to pay with them at a store; but most stores in NL round like it is done in FI. Let's just say the cashier was not happy with what I gave her.

On the other hand, I read that in some of the "young" member states there had even be suggestions to introduce a half cent coin. Not any official requests, but still, it shows that the two low-value coins are there to stay for a while ...

Christian

The 1, 2 and 5¢ coins are ugly in my opinion, I kind of like the other designs though.

I wonder, if a store keeper in Limburg for example decides they do not want to accept your 5¢ coins, can you complain to the EU, is there enforcement of legal tender in the EU?

The three "copper" pieces pick up a design that had been in use before, see http://www.nbs.sk/MENA/BEZMIN/20HA.HTM ... Now I do not particularly like the font that will apparently be used for the word Slovensko (too condensed), but the design is not bad I think.

The concept of cash being legal tender does not necessarily mean stores have to accept it. Not sure whether the laws are exactly the same in all of Euroland, but in Germany for example pretty much the same as in the US applies: Legal tender means that debts can be paid with it. Now if you go to a store and "select" products that you plan to buy, there is no contract and thus no debt until the cashier accepts your payment. Many stores in Euroland have signs explicitly saying that they do not accept €200 and €500 notes, some won't even accept €100 notes.

What is different in Finland (since Jan-2002) and the Netherlands (since Sep-2004) is that a store will usually round the total amount to the nearest 5 cent: The amount due will end in 5 (if the total is 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7) or in 0 (if the total is 8, 9, 0, 1, or 2), thus the 1 and 2 ct coins are not really needed. But they do of course continue to be legal tender. In "my" case the total was rounded down, but my cash payment still included a few nice 1 and 2 ct coins, hehe.

Christian

I guess the Dutch don't like money in all it's forms

And just to expand a bit further regarding Finland; this is done only with cash transactions. All electronic payments, transfers, etc are not rounded. In other words, if you pay with your credit card, you will pay to the exact cent.

If it's due to the strange colors in the PDF file, here are some newer design images. The NBS also provides some info about what is depicted ...

http://www.nbs.sk/MEDZINAR/EU/EURO_SK/2EURO.HTM
http://www.nbs.sk/MEDZINAR/EU/EURO_SK/1EURO.HTM
The Slovak national coat of arms - a double cross in the middle of three hills (Designer: Ivan Rehak)

http://www.nbs.sk/MEDZINAR/EU/EURO_SK/50CENT.HTM
http://www.nbs.sk/MEDZINAR/EU/EURO_SK/20CENT.HTM
http://www.nbs.sk/MEDZINAR/EU/EURO_SK/10CENT.HTM
Bratislava Castle, landmark of the Slovak capital, with the state emblem (Designers: Jan Cernaj, Pavel Karoly)

http://www.nbs.sk/MEDZINAR/EU/EURO_SK/5CENT.HTM
http://www.nbs.sk/MEDZINAR/EU/EURO_SK/2CENT.HTM
http://www.nbs.sk/MEDZINAR/EU/EURO_SK/1CENT.HTM
Krivan Peak, symbol of the High Tatra mountains (Designer: Drahomir Zobek)

Christian

I like the designs.

Me too. I like the "middle group" best, with Bratislava castle. The small coins with the mountain peak are OK too, except that the font used for the country name looks too small or rather too narrow.

Christian

same here

The Slovakian central bank (NBS) just presented the slightly modified designs of the planned euro and cent circulation coins. Slovakia aims at introducing the euro in 2009. All denominations now have the state emblem (double cross above three stylized mountains) and the mintmark of the Kremnica mint (MK = Mincovna Kremnica). Also, the fonts used for the three designs are now similar.

1, 2, 5 cent: Krivan Peak (in the High Tatra mountains)
The state emblem was added, also the mintmark (MK) and the designer sign (Z = Drahomir Zobek).

10, 20, 50 cent: Bratislava Castle
The mintmark MK was added; the signs on the walls (near the three o'clock star) seem to be the designers (Jan Cernaj and Pavel Karoly) initials.

€1, €2: Coat of Arms (double cross above three stylized mountains)
The mintmark MK and the designer sign (R = Ivan Rehak) were added.

Images see above (Post #13). This is the source - a brochure from the central bank (PDF, about 900K):
http://www.nbs.sk/MEDZINAR/EU/SK_COINS.PDF

Christian

I like the castle & the coat of arms but the mounting looks a bit bland

Well, the Krivan is an important symbol of the country's independence. In the mid-19th century "Slovak patriots" walked up there and tore a monument down that had been set up to commemorate some Saxon-Polish king. The first Krivan hike was in 1841, the biggest one in 1861, and since the 1950s they have been "dedicated" to the 1944 uprising. On one hand the communists misused the hikes and the Krivan (the peak replaced the double cross as a symbol of Slovakia for many years). On the other hand people still consider the mountain to be a national symbol - which was also depicted on the country's 20 h coins shortly after Slovakia became independent in 1993 ...

Christian

I like the 10c-50c & 1E-2E coins, not to keen on the 1c-5c coins but if they have historic relevance then fair enough.

Slovaks are very devout Catholics. My wife is Slovak and we visit her family often. We'll actually be there through July. During Catholic mass, they actually blare the ceremony through loud speakers throughout the town. My wife says it's just for the old and infirm who can't go to the ceremony, so they can still hear it. Of course that's why we have radio and tv, but I digress.

The coins look nice. You're right that the mountain image doesn't do the high tatras justice. I've taken some nice pics of that place. If anyone wants to see, it's buried somewhere in my gallery on another site:

tarthursmith.deviantart.com (don't worry no "deviant" art in my gallery, it's just the stupid name of the site )

My only decent coins (worth showing here) are silver commemoratives of Slovakia. If I ever get a chance to take good photos, I'll show em.

Update - see http://www.coinpeople.com/index.php?showtopic=20191