This piece belongs to a short-lived experimental series issued ahead of euro currency adoption, when several European nations briefly explored fractional and novelty denominations to build public familiarity with the incoming currency. The 1½ Euro face value had no legal tender basis in any functioning monetary system — it was a promotional artifact, struck for the 1997 Europa Week events and sold directly to collectors at a premium over melt.
Germany never circulated these; the Bundesbank treated the series as numismatic merchandise rather than coinage policy.
This piece belongs to a short-lived experimental series issued ahead of euro currency adoption, when several European nations briefly explored fractional and novelty denominations to build public familiarity with the incoming currency. The 1½ Euro face value had no legal tender basis in any functioning monetary system — it was a promotional artifact, struck for the 1997 Europa Week events and sold directly to collectors at a premium over melt.
Germany never circulated these; the Bundesbank treated the series as numismatic merchandise rather than coinage policy.