ECU - Beatrix Carolus Magnus; 1 oz silver

The ECU — European Currency Unit — was never legal tender in the conventional sense but existed as a basket currency used for accounting within the European Monetary System from 1979 onward. The Royal Dutch Mint was among the most aggressive European mints in producing ECU-denominated collector pieces throughout the 1980s, effectively commercializing a unit that the European Commission itself had limited ability to monetize. This piece pairs the Carolingian emperor most associated with European unification with the currency instrument that preceded the euro — a pairing that was deliberate and politically pointed for its moment.