Guest of Honor France – Topic Olympia Collection – World Money Fair 24

The Paris 2024 coin collection - bigger, more beautiful, more extraordinary

The Olympic an Paralympic Games Paris 2024 coin collection of the Monnaie de Paris.

The collection of over 150 coins for the Olympic an Paralympic Games Paris 2024 is the largest ever developed and published by Monnanie de Paris. The first series for the Olympic an Paralympic Games Paris 2024 started in 2021, the year after the previous edition in Tokyo, and a new series was added every year. The four series thus form a kind of numismatic bridge from Tokyo to Paris. The individual motifs are also of a very special quality in many respects - in terms of design, craftsmanship and the stories they tell.

The Monnaie de Paris team has set itself the task of linking sport with the characteristics of the host country, its history, its national symbols and its cultural roots. For example, in one series you see legendary figures of the Grande Nation - Marianne, the spirit of freedom or the "Semeuse" (Saherin) as rather scantily clad sporting characters, "La Semeuse" as a boxer, for example. Of course, many collectors and numismatists were initially shocked that classical iconography was being thrown overboard, but ultimately the coin designers' argument was convincing: today's women are strong and can defend themselves, even with fists if necessary. The hexagonal shape also symbolizes France as a whole. Based on the shape of the country, the French traditionally and affectionately refer to France as a "hexagon".

This finely balanced combination of tradition and modernity can also be found in the sports series, in which the movements of individual sports are brought to life on the coin using almost photographic or cinematographic techniques. The mint itself is actually a static sculpture, but we have set it in motion in this way," says Joaquin Jimenez, the creative director of the state mint, describing the design idea.

According to the creative mastermind behind the designs, the way in which ideas are developed at the Monnaie de Paris is also very unusual. All design ideas are developed in-house by the team. With a mischievous smile, he recounts the "classic" process of creating the mint motifs: "When I have an idea while shaving in the morning, I tell it to the marketing team and we discuss it intensively, inspire each other, develop the idea further and then take the next steps with the engravers. This turns an idea into a joint project that makes everyone proud. One might rightly say, if one takes a closer look at the French coins celebrating the PARIS 2024 games, with their multi-layered symbolism and subtle details. For collectors, too, being there is everything.