10 euro - The Europa Program – Charles V

In 2004, coinciding with the expansion of the European Union, several Mints in the old Continent joined together in the numismatic program entitled Europa, to mint collector coins with a common topic. The third series of coins in this Program was issued during 2006, the theme being «Prominent Europeans». On this occasion the Spanish Royal Mint minted one gold and one silver coin dedicated to the Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), a pioneer of the idea of Europe and a symbol for the European Union as a whole. The obverse of the silver coin portrays the likeness of H.M. King Juan Carlos I. The reverse portrays an image of the Emperor Charles V taken from the handwritten Codex of the Order of the Golden Fleece, a document housed in the Valencia de Don Juan Institute in Madrid. Shown to the right of the image is the common mintmark of the Europa Program.