Production of Croatian Euro Coins Has Begun

In the Croatian Mint, the beginning of the production of euro coins with the Croatian national side was ceremoniously marked today.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković and the Governor of the Croatian National Bank Boris Vujčić, accompanied by Damir Bolta, the CEO of the Croatian Mint, toured the facilities where euro coins are produced and familiarized themselves with the coin minting process.

After the Council of the European Union made a formal decision last week regarding Croatia’s entry into the euro area on January 1, 2023, the production of Croatian euro coins marks the beginning of a key activity for the implementation of the euro introduction and the replacement of cash.

Timely production and preparation of the necessary quantities of Croatian euro coins for banks, so that they can later indirectly supply businesses such as shops and restaurants, is an important step in the cash replacement process, which will ensure that citizens can pay without difficulty using the new euro coins from the first day of the euro introduction.

To achieve these goals, the Croatian National Bank will prepare about 3,700 tons of euro coins for the purpose of supplying banks with euro coins (the weight is approximately equal to that of 88 new Zagreb trams or 94 modern passenger aircraft used by Croatia Airlines), and the mint will have to produce a larger part of that quantity of euro coins in an exceptionally short period of less than six months.

– We are conducting the euro introduction process seriously, structurally, and systematically, and I take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to Croatia’s path towards membership in the euro area. We continue with activities that will ensure the timely replacement of cash throughout Croatia before and after entering the euro area, and an integral part of this is also the minting of euro and cent coins with the Croatian national side. The Croatian Mint was established in 1993 as the Croatian Monetary Institute and has been one of the important pillars of building national identity.

Today, nearly 30 years after its establishment, the Croatian Mint will mint Croatian euro coins and thus, along with the promotion of Croatian symbols throughout Europe, participate in the historic process in which Croatia enters the club of the most developed member states of the European Union, to the benefit of our citizens and the economy, said Prime Minister Plenković on the occasion of the ceremonial marking of the beginning of the production of Croatian euro coins.

– The introduction of the euro, with all its aspects, is a significant logistical undertaking whose successful implementation ensures the supply of euro cash and the smooth operation of payment transactions in the country. The replacement of cash is a very important event for every country and its monetary system, and I can state that it is currently one of the most logistically complex projects in Croatia. I would like to thank the citizens and everyone involved in the selection of national motifs and their designs on the euro coins, as well as everyone participating in the current important logistical operation.

A special thank you to the employees of the mint, to whom I wish, on behalf of the management and professional services of the Croatian National Bank and in my personal capacity, successful realization of all business goals. May our Croatian euro coins sail successfully and happily through the European monetary sea; thus, we will turn another symbol of Croatia’s involvement in the European project into monetary reality, said Governor Vujčić on that occasion.