The eurozone is set to increase the number of coins produced for Bulgaria as the country prepares to join the single currency. In recent years, annual euro coin production has typically reached around two billion euros. For 2025, the authorized limit was 2.17 billion euros, but production climbed to 2.6 billion euros, largely due to Croatia’s eurozone entry, according to the German news agency DPA.
In 2026, euro coins for circulation are planned at a total value of 1.9 billion euros, with additional coins of numismatic value estimated at over 511 million euros. Germany is expected to mint the largest share again, producing coins worth 558 million euros, including numismatic coins valued at 203.5 million euros. France follows with 342 million euros, while Spain ranks third with 299 million euros. Bulgaria, as a new eurozone member, will mint coins worth just over 164 million euros, almost entirely for everyday use.
The role of cents is under debate. Germany continues producing one- and two-cent coins, unlike the United States, which stopped minting one-cent coins in November 2025 after 230 years, encouraging retailers to round prices to the nearest five cents. Similar rounding practices exist in countries such as Finland, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, and Estonia.
In March 2025, the German Bundesbank proposed a rounding system that could have made one- and two-cent coins redundant, but the plan was never implemented. DPA notes that unrounded prices remain an important marketing tool in retail, and any abolition of small euro coins would require approval at the European level.