2 Euro Commemorative Coin
35th Anniversary of the Erasmus Programme

In 2022, the countries of the EU Economic and Monetary Union are celebrating the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Erasmus programme with the issue of a special 2 euro Erasmus coin.

Approved by the European Council of Ministers in 1987, the Erasmus Programme promotes cultural, social and academic exchanges between European students. But who exactly was the Erasmus after whom the programme was named? Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam was a Renaissance cosmopolitan who worked in many European countries. He died in Basel almost half a millennium ago, but is still considered an important humanist, philologist, church reformer and pioneering spirit of the Enlightenment. In 1509, he wrote his most famous work, In Praise of Folly, a satire that looks at the many faces of human ignorance.

In its brass core, the special 2 euro coin features a representation of the famous portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1523. Behind Erasmus is a network symbolising intellectual and cultural exchange between students from different nations.

The roll of 25 pieces is available at the coins’ joint nominal value of 50 euros.