Written by the Maison Or & Bijoux Cannes team · updated
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Mint | Monnaie de Paris, struck at Pessac |
| Gold | 920, 999 or 999.9 fine depending on the issue |
| Silver | 333, 500, 900, 950 or 999 fine |
| Face values | From 5 to 10,000 euros |
| Finishes | BU (brilliant uncirculated) and proof |
| Since | 2002 |
| Legal tender | France only |
| Origin mark | Horn of plenty |
A 100-euro gold coin barely 15 mm wide, a 41 g silver 50 euros, a 10 euros drawn by Sempé: the collector euros of the Monnaie de Paris often puzzle the people who find them in a drawer. Issued since 2002, they are legal tender in France only and never circulate. Their face value says nothing about their metal; the series, the weight and the diameter are what place them.
The pictorial side changes with each series: the Sower walking (2008-2010), map and landmarks of a region (2010-2012), Augustin Dupré's Hercules group redrawn by Joaquin Jimenez (2011-2013), drawings by Sempé (2014) or Uderzo (2015), Smurf characters in colour (2020).
The value side carries the amount in euros, the year and RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE or RF. On the Sower, the regional euros or the Smurfs, the value sits between a laurel branch and an oak branch, with three hexagons and the motto. The horn of plenty is the Monnaie de Paris mark.
A selection weighted towards gold coins and large silver modules, plus the two Cannes Film Festival issues. New issues run to dozens every year, so the table keeps only the ones most often seen.
| Coin | Series | Year | Metal and size | Mintage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 euros | Sower walking | 2008 to 2010 | Gold 999.9, 3.1 g, 15 mm | 50,000 per date |
| 250 euros | Sower walking | 2009 | Gold 920, 8.45 g, 22 mm | 25,000 |
| 500 euros | Sower walking | 2010 | Gold 999, 12 g, 31 mm | 25,000 |
| 250 euros | Values of the Republic, Peace | 2013 | Gold 999, 3.89 g, 23 mm | 50,000 |
| 500 euros | Values of the Republic, The Republic (Sempé) | 2014 | Gold | n/a |
| 10 euros | 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival | 2007 | Gold 920, 8.45 g, 22 mm, proof | 500 |
| 20 euros | 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival | 2007 | Silver 950, 155.5 g, 50 mm, proof | 500 |
| 50 euros | Sower walking | 2010 | Silver 900, 36 g, 41 mm | 100,000 |
| 50 euros | Peace by Sempé (spring-summer, autumn-winter) | 2014 | Silver 900, 41 g, 41 mm | 50,000 for the spring-summer version |
| 50 euros | Astérix and Peace (Uderzo) | 2015 | Silver 900, 41 g, 41 mm | 50,000 announced |
| 50 euros | The Smurfs, coloured | 2020 | Silver 900, 41 g, 41 mm | 20,000 per character |
| 100 euros | Hercules | 2011 to 2013 | Silver 900, 50 g, 47 mm | 50,000 |
| 20 to 10,000 euros | Bicentenary of Napoleon's death | 2021 | Silver 999 and gold | n/a |
Sower and Hercules: Numismatiquement vôtre and Gold.fr; 2009 250 euros: Coin Varieties; 2013 250 euros and the 2014, 2015 and 2020 50 euros: CGB listings, with CoinsWeekly and Stash of Coins; Cannes Film Festival: Wikipedia and Stash of Coins. Catalogues disagree on the Astérix 50 euros mintage.
One face value can hide coins with nothing in common. The 2007 Cannes Film Festival 10 euros is gold, 920 fine; the 2012 Hercules 10 euros is 500 fine silver; Sempé's 2014 10 euros are only 333 fine. Reading the number is never enough.
Three checks settle most cases: note the year and the design, weigh to a tenth of a gram, measure the diameter with calipers. Then compare with the table. The fineness is not always struck on the coin; the series tells you.
Finally, look at the finish. A proof has a mirror field and frosted relief and comes in a case with a certificate; a brilliant uncirculated coin looks more even and comes in a blister, on a card or in a cardboard folder.
Monnaie de Paris gold euros are often tiny. The 2008-2010 Sower 100 euros weighs 3.1 g for 15 mm; the 2013 Peace 250 euros, first year of the Values of the Republic series, 3.89 g for 23 mm. Their size is not a sign of an imitation.
Others are heavier: the 2009 Sower 250 euros, 920 fine, weighs 8.45 g, and the 2010 500 euros reaches 12 g for 31 mm. In 2014, the only gold coin in the series drawn by Sempé is a 500 euros titled The Republic.
These coins often come in a capsule. Leave it closed: a fingerprint on polished gold leaves a lasting mark, and the coin can be read through the plastic.
From 2014 to 2020 the Monnaie de Paris kept one format for its pictorial 50 euros: 900 fine silver, 41 g, 41 mm. It is used for Sempé's two Peace 50 euros (June and September 2014), for the 2015 Astérix and Peace 50 euros, where Dogmatix holds an olive branch, and for the 2020 Smurfs, issued in colour.
The 2010 Sower 50 euros shares the 41 mm diameter but weighs 36 g, so the scale tells them apart at once.
On the Smurfs, colour is part of the original issue. On any other series, a painted or gilded coin was almost always decorated later by a private company.
These coins leave the mint without circulating; handling is what damages them.
More in our guides on coin grades, why not to clean a coin and checks against fakes, which mostly target gold.
In 2007 the Monnaie de Paris marked the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival with two proof coins: a 10 euros in 920 fine gold, 8.45 g and 22 mm, and a 20 euros in 950 fine silver, 155.5 g and 50 mm, each announced at 500 pieces. A cinema screen, the festival steps and a palm frame the legend “60E ANNIVERSAIRE DU FESTIVAL DE CANNES”. With mintages that small they are rarely seen; if a Cannes family owns one, the shop can identify it together with its case.
No, the 2007 10 euros is 920 fine gold and weighs 8.45 g. The silver coin for the same anniversary is a much larger 20 euros, 50 mm across.
Yes. The Sower 100 euros struck from 2008 to 2010 holds 3.1 g of 999.9 fine gold; its small size is the one the Monnaie de Paris intended.
Yes, these 2020 coins were issued in colour. A painted coin from a series that was not coloured has, by contrast, been decorated by a third party.
The Monnaie de Paris announced 50,000 pieces, but some catalogues report a reduced figure. Only an official record could settle it; bring the coin to a free valuation to have it identified.