Spanish Royal Mint Releases 2010 Coin Issue Schedule

The Spanish Royal Mint have released their coin products program for 2010, with much to get excited about.

January: Starting off the year are coins to celebrating the Spanish Presidency of the European Union. Every six months a new country is selected to take on the role of EU president, with Spain receiving this honor from January to June, 2010. It will be the country's 4th term as president since it joined the EU in 1986. There will be a 10 euro silver proof commemorative coin issued in January, with a 12 euro silver proof following in February.

Also released in January will be Spain's 2 euro commemorative coin, paying tribute to the Mezquita, the Roman Catholic cathedral originally built as a Mosque in the Andalusian city of Córdoba. January also sees the first of the Spanish coin sets being released, with the standard mint set or Brilliant Uncirculated coinage appearing sometime during the month.

February: Apart from the second Spanish EU presidency coin February sees the next release in the popular Architecture series, this time dedicated to the famous Sagrada Família Temple (Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família) and the renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), for which the temple is considered his master-work.

March: The highly prized and sought-after Spanish proof set of coins will be released this month, featuring all 8 circulating euro in the highest quality available by the mint. It is believed that a proof version of the 2 euro Mezquita commemorative coin will also be included in the set.

March will also see a 10 euro silver proof coin issued to celebrate Xacobeo 2010. Año Santo Jacobeo (or in galician language Ano Santo Xacobeo) is the holy year of St. James. It takes place in the year when the 25th of July (day of St. James) is a Sunday. Xacobeo 2010 is born out of a vocation to celebrate the spiritual and
cultural essence of the Camino de Santiago, serving as an international
showcase for knowledge and the arts.

April: This month sees a 10 euro silver proof and a 100 euro gold proof issued to celebrate the approaching FIFA World Cup held in South Africa between 11 June and 11 July, sure to be the biggest sporting event of the year.

May: Continuing the series of brilliant uncirculated coin sets dedicated to various Spanish regions and cities comes two new releases in May. With each set containing the 8 circulating euro currency of Spain together with the 2010 2 euro commemorative, the sets this year are in honor of the central region of La Mancha and the northwest city of León. La Mancha was made famous by Miguel de Cervantes in his book Don Quixote de La Mancha, while Leon has the famed Gothic cathedral Santa María de León.

Also in may there will be the release of a set of coins honoring well-known Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco de Goya. Goya was born in Fuendetodos, Aragón, Spain, in 1746 and is probably best remembered for his 1793–1794 series of 11 small darkly fantastical paintings, although in his life he painted all manner of subjects. The coins honoring the life and work of Goya will be available in 10 euro silver proof, 50 euro silver proof and 200 euro gold proof.

September: After a gap of a few months the mint will release another set of 3 coins in either silver or gold, this time dedicated to "Ancient Visigothic and Carthaginian coins". It's too early to know what designs will be featured on these coins but they will be available as a 10 euro silver proof, 100 euro gold proof and 25 euro gold proof issues.

October: The final releases from Spain in 2010 will be a series of "Historical" coins issued in varying denominations. The coins, struck in silver proof quality, will be dedicated to a number of different countries such as Argentina, Cuba, Portugal, Nicaragua, Mexico, Peru, Paraguay and Guatemala, where the Spanish dialect and culture flourish. The coins will be issued in the denominations of each respective country, with the Argentinian and Cuban coins released as Pesos, the Nicaraguan coin as Cordobas, Portugal as euro, etc.