Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands and Spain have mintage date stipulations. The coinage acts of countries with a mintage date stipulation specify that the year the coin is minted, regardless of when the coins are issued, should appear on each coin. These coinage acts regulate the coin production parameters for each country. There is individual national legislation in place which governs the mintage of coins issued from each country. Since the euro was officially introduced in 1999, most of the EMU member countries began producing their coins ahead of the 2002 introduction date. This article serves to list the information about the various types of identifying marks on euro coins, including engraver and designer initials and the unique edge inscriptions found on the €2 coins. These marks have been continued as a part of the national designs of the euro coins, as well. Before the introduction of the euro, the current eurozone members issued their own individual national coinage, most of which featured mint marks, privy marks and/or mint master marks.
