2 Euros Prueba Trial Essai Probe

Cyprus struck these trial pieces in 2004 as part of its pre-accession testing ahead of EU entry, which formally occurred on 1 May of that year. The island had been negotiating since 1990, though reunification failure following the April 2004 referendum meant that only the southern, Republic-controlled portion entered the eurozone process. These Probe issues were produced for vending machine and technical calibration purposes, not public release, which accounts for their low survival numbers in anything resembling uncirculated condition.