5 ECU - Henri

Luxembourg's ECU-denominated issues were struck purely for the collector market — the ECU never circulated as legal tender in Luxembourg or anywhere else, existing only as a unit of account within the European Monetary System. This piece commemorates Henri, hereditary Grand Duke at the time of issue, who would formally succeed his father Jean in 2000. The timing placed these coins squarely in the final window before the euro rendered the ECU obsolete entirely, dissolved by definition on January 1, 1999 — less than a year after this coin was struck.