The Croatian National Bank has announced new Croatian commemorative and numismatic issues for 2026. The greatest attention is certainly drawn by the new 2-euro commemorative circulation coin „City of Vukovar,” which will be issued in as many as half a million copies, a record amount so far for Croatian commemorative euro coins. Alongside it, new gold and silver numismatic issues dedicated to Ivan Vučetić and the Croatian Sheepdog have also been announced.
Vukovar Water Tower and the Danube on the new 2-euro coin
On September 15, 2026, the Council of the Croatian National Bank adopted a decision on the issuance of the €2 commemorative coin „City of Vukovar”, continuing the „Croatian Cities” series. The national side of the new coin will feature the Vukovar Water Tower and the Danube River, two strongly recognizable motifs associated with the city and its identity.
In its announcement, the HNB describes Vukovar as a city of special historical, cultural, and symbolic significance for the Republic of Croatia. The Vukovar Water Tower is one of the most recognizable contemporary symbols of the city, while the Danube represents its geographical position, long history, and traditional connection with the great European river.
The announced mintage is particularly interesting. The „City of Vukovar” coin will be issued in 500,000 copies, which the CNB explicitly cites as a record amount. Such a mintage is significantly larger than that of most previous Croatian 2-euro commemorative coins and increases the possibility that some of these coins will actually appear in regular cash circulation, rather than just in numismatists' collections.
By comparison, Croatia's first 2-euro commemorative coin issued in 2026, „100 Years of Croatian Radiotelevision”, was issued in a quantity of up to 200,000 pieces. Of these, 190,000 coins were minted in brilliant uncirculated quality, and 5,000 pieces each in proof-like and proof qualities. That coin was put into circulation on July 16, 2026.
The coin „100 years of Croatian Radiotelevision” was the sixth Croatian commemorative 2 euro coin since the introduction of the common European currency in Croatia, so „City of Vukovar” will be the next, seventh Croatian issue of this kind.
Ivan Vučetić enters the „Croatian Innovators” series”
The second major new feature relates to the continuation of the commemorative coin series „Croatian Innovators.” The HNB has made a decision to issue gold commemorative coins and a silver commemorative coin named „Innovations of Ivan Vučetić.”.
The new coins will feature the figure and work of Ivan Vučetić, a criminologist and one of the pioneers of modern dactyloscopy, that is, the identification of persons based on fingerprints. In its announcement, the HNB cites Vučetić as the inventor of dactyloscopy, and the new edition continues the concept of presenting Croatian innovators and their achievements on contemporary Croatian commemorative currency.
The „Croatian Innovators” series began with an issue dedicated to Faust Vrančić. In 2023, the CNB issued a gold coin with a nominal value of 100 euros and a silver coin of 4 euros titled „Faust Vrančić's Innovations,” thereby establishing the concept of the series in which Croatian inventors and their innovations are presented through numismatics.
Exact denominations, quantities, technical characteristics, authors of the artistic design, and the release date of the edition dedicated to Ivan Vučetić have not been announced in the latest HNB press release so far.
Croatian Sheepdog new edition of the series „Autochthonous Croatia”
The third announcement refers to the „Croatian Sheepdog” gold and silver commemorative coins. The new issue will be part of the „Indigenous Croatia” series, which presents autochthonous Croatian breeds and other recognizable elements of Croatia's natural heritage on commemorative coins.
Following the Croatian Coldblood, which was featured on commemorative coins in 2025, the selection of the Croatian Sheepdog represents a logical continuation of this series. It is one of the most recognizable Croatian autochthonous dog breeds, giving animal motifs a prominent place once again in the Croatian numismatic program.
As with the edition dedicated to Ivan Vučetić, more detailed data on the denominations, mintages, dimensions, weight, design author, and the start date of sales for the Croatian Sheepdog are still expected. At this moment, the HNB has officially confirmed the adoption of the decision to issue gold and silver coins and that the issue belongs to the „Autochthonous Croatia” series.
Rich numismatic year 2026
The new announcement further expands the already very rich Croatian numismatic program for 2026. Special attention among collectors will likely be drawn by the „City of Vukovar”, not only because of the symbolism of the selected motifs, but also because of the unusually large quantity of half a million copies.
For collectors of commemorative euro coins, this continues the „Croatian Cities” series, while issues dedicated to Ivan Vučetić and the Croatian Sheepdog continue the development of thematic series intended primarily for the numismatic market.
In its announcement of September 15, the CNB did not publish the release dates for the new issues into circulation or sale, nor their complete technical details. These details will be known following the publication of individual decisions and official coin presentations.
Source: Croatian National Bank, September 15, 2026.
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