The Euro coins

My mum (Brigitte Havenith) once gave my opa (Jan Havenith) a journal to complete entitled 'This is dad's life'. In it, there was once question: What have been the biggest changes you’ve seen in your lifetime?

In answer to this question, part of his reply was: "The arrival of the Euro."

The handwriting of Jan Havenith

When the Euro did arrive, I remember opa giving me 2 coins, dated 1999, featuring Beatrix, the Queen of The Netherlands at the time. They were a 1 Euro coin and a 2 Euro coin. He made me feel like these were special, so I resolved to keep them. For a long time, the were kept together with black eletrical tape (doh!), but these days they are kept in a plastic coin bag and will be properly stored in future. Below are the front and obverse of the coins he gave me.