Call goes out for euro coin designers

Date: 16/01/1997

By Tim Jones

NOW that the bridge-and-window artwork of the single currency notes has been settled, the EU is poised to kick off the competition for the design of the coins.

When they meet on 27 January, Union finance ministers will select a jury of historians, artists, coin experts and psychologists to judge which of the 42 designs should be minted once the euro is born.

Economics Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy wrote to ministers in November setting out the timetable for the contest to design one side of the cent coins.

He asked member states to select three experts in industrial design, art history or numis-matics all of whom should be independent of the government and forward their names to the European Commission for the January ministerial gathering.

So far, he has received responses from 11 member states Denmark has made it clear that it will not participate since it has an opt-out from monetary union. However, the UK, which also benefits from an EMU exoneration, will take part.

Each member state will be asked to send three designs to the Commission by 28 February. These will be placed in the hands of a notary and coded so that no nationality can be favoured. The jury will draw up a short-list of favoured designs between 10-14 March.

Once this has been done, an opinion poll will assess the reaction among ordinary citizens. The Commission hopes that finance ministers will be able to select the winning designs in May and present them to the Amsterdam summit in June.

The artists will have to come up with sketches for one, two, five, ten, 20 and 50-cent coins, along with designs for the one and two euro pieces. Unlike the banknotes, which only left 20&percent; of their surface for a national sym-bol, the coins will have one whole side for individual emblems.