Euro Dime

This is a Euro ten-cent coin. How it appeared among my spare change I have no idea.

It happens to be a Spanish Euro coin, as the obverse shows the word "España" and an image of Cervantes, along with the year 1999. What initially interested me about this coin is the depiction of the different countries of the EC at that time. Their shapes are separated by spaces, in a sort of exploded view, but are readily identifiable as to what they represent, even down to the Mediterranean islands of Crete, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and one of the Balearic Islands. (I suppose the other Balearic Islands, and the state of Malta are too small to be shown.)

Also interesting is the inclusion of the Hebrides west of Scotland in the British Isles, the Danish Islands of Zealand and Fyn (but not the tinier ones, of course), and the Swedish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. The shape of Germany is what it is today after reunification. The two large pieces at the top represent Sweden and Finland, but Norway, not being in the EC, is not represented here.

The separation of the Iberian countries of Spain and Portugal is also worthy of note, for it reminds me of José Saramago's novel "The Raft" where the Iberian peninsula is detached at the Pyrenees, and floats away from the rest of Europe out into the Atlantic.

The coin is about 2 centimetres or ¾ inch in diameter, larger than a U.S. dime but roughly the same as our copper penny. Like our own coins, its intrinsic value in terms of its metal composition is probably higher than its stated face value.

The coin's designer has discreetly placed his or her initials LL to the right of the figure 10.
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