Croatia mints first euro coins

Croatia has minted its first euro coins as it prepares to join switch to the single European currency in January of 2023. 

The mint in Sveta Nedjelja will be working 24/7 until then to produce 3,700 tons of euro coins - the amount needed to perform the transition.

"We will be working in three shifts, 24 hours a day so that we can mint 420 million Croatian euro coins by the end of the year. And next year we will mint another 230 million coins, under the current plan," said Boris Vujčić, the governor of the Croatian National Bank.

Distribution of the coins will begin in early December.

A single press at the mint in Sveta Nedjelja can produce 500 to 800 coins per minute.

“We have six presses, an average capacity of about four million coins per day, said Damir Bolta, President of the Management Board of the Croatian Mint.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that coins and banknotes will first have to be distributed to banks, post offices, and the Fina financial services agency, then to everyone else.

"On January 1, Croatia will become a member of the eurozone. Prior to that, we must complete all the logistics and preparation activities to switch Croatian kunas to euros and this means minting coins here and obtaining paper notes through the national bank and in cooperation with other EU member states' central banks," said Plenković.