The Bulgarian National Bank presented the design of the national side of the euro coins of all denominations - 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 euro cents and 1 euro and 2 euro, according to a publication on the Central Bank's website.
The press release notes that "today, at a meeting of the Coordination Council for the preparation of the Republic of Bulgaria for membership in the euro area, the art projects for the design of the Bulgarian national side of the euro coins of all denominations approved by the Governing Council of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) were adopted."
The euro coins have a common side and a national side. The design of the common sides of the coins is the work of Luc Luycx of the Royal Belgian Mint. They feature images of the European Union or Europe, which symbolise the unity of the EU, the BNB adds.
The artistic designs for the design of the Bulgarian national side of the euro coins adopted by the Coordination Council meet the requirements for the main motifs and mandatory design details set out in Council Regulation (EU) No 729/2014 of June 24, 2014 on the denomination structure and technical specifications of euro coins, the central bank says.
The artistic designs have been produced by the Bulgarian Mint.
The artistic designs are to be submitted for approval by the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the euro area Member States.
After their approval, these designs will be used for the production of euro coins with the Bulgarian national side. Pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Republic of Bulgaria, the euro area Member States and the European Commission for the start of the production of euro coins and for the preparatory tasks prior to the start of the production, initially 8 denominations of euro coins with Bulgarian national side will be produced in a quantity of up to one million pieces for each denomination to test the quality of the produced coins and to certify the Bulgarian Mint. The actual production of the required quantities of euro coins with Bulgarian national side will be carried out after the Decision of the Council of the European Union on the adoption of the euro by the Republic of Bulgaria.