Portugal 2016 Rio Olympic Games 2 Euro Coin

Description:

The 2016 Portugal 2 Euro bimetallic Olympic Coin honoring the XXXI Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is a legal-tender, circulating commemorative issue. The 2016 Rio Olympic Games hold special significance for the Portuguese not only because the nation is sending a slated 88 competitors to participate in 15 different sports but also because the nations of Portugal and Brazil have many significant cultural, historical and political ties.

The Portuguese first claimed Brazil upon the arrival of a shipping fleet led by military commander Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500. The town of São Vicente (the first official Portuguese settlement, named after Saint Vincent, the patron saint of Lisbon) was established near Sáo Paulo in 1532.

Ties between Brazil and Portugal developed over the next few centuries, from the age of exploration to the rise of colonialism and beyond. Brazil became an independent nation in 1822.

Obverse:

The obverse of the Portugal €2 Rio Olympic coin features a design by Joana Vasconcelos, whose three-dimensional crochet work, Independent Red Heart, was incorporated onto the coin. The iconic piece, created in 2005, is inspired by the “Heart of Viana,” a traditional design from the northern Portuguese region of Viana do Castelo. It features five main geometric segments, with the largest heart-shaped element at the base and the upper portions of two hearts stacked on top.

Multiple curlicues, loosely resembling rings, evoke the familiar Olympic logo.

Vasconcelos’ Heart is contained within the borders of the nickel brass inner core, which also features several inscriptions. These include the artist’s name JOANA VASCONCELOS inscribed rather prominently along the left edge. To the right of the heart design are the words EQUIPA OLÍMPICA DE PORTUGAL 2016, which translates into “PORTUGAL’S 2016 OLYMPIC TEAM.” At the bottom center of the brass-nickel core segment is INCM, which is the mintmark of the Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda or National Mint (of Portugal).

On the outer copper-nickel ring are the 12 stars of the European Union.

Reverse:

The reverse bears the common reverse of European Union euro coinage. A geographical map of Western Europe spans the outer ring and inner core on the right side of the coin. The inscription 2 EURO is superimposed over the map of Europe, with the numeral “2” located in an open field representing the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

12 stars are located on the right side of the outer ring, with six stars atop the map of Europe and six stars below it; six vertical stripes cut across the inner core of the coin, visually connecting the upper and lower star segments.

Luc Luycx, a designer at the Royal Mint of Belgium, designed the Euro’s common reverse; his initials, LL, are seen on the right side of the design, just under the “O” in “EURO.”

Designer(s): Luc Luycx is a computer engineer and medalist from Belgium (View Designer’s Profile).

Coin Specifications: