Just got this third coin in the "Women of France" series by the Monnaie de Paris. This is the "Joan of Arc" coin. It is a 10 Euro high relief proof, with a mintage of only 5000 each. Given that it is a really brilliant proof, with a high relief surface, it is very hard to photograph:
I believe this is an extension of the Monnaies de Paris' previous series "From Clovis to the Republic," which featured all men (including Clovis, St. Louis, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Charles de Gaulle and others). I have most of that series and the mint did a good job of making the earlier issues look like hammered coins. Though very attractive coins, they don't contain a lot of silver considering their price (I think each one contains about .7 of an ounce if I remember correctly). Still, one doesn't always buy commemorative issues for metal content. In any case, they are all fascinating coins each with their own unique history lesson. But, as with many modern commems, they come with a decent premium. The "Women of France" ("Femmes de France") series so far features: Joan of Arc, Queen Matilde, Queen Clotilde, La Marquise de Pompadour, Catherine de Médicis, and Olympe de Gouges. They come in silver or gold. My guess is that this series will also contain 12 coins, similar to the previous series I mentioned above. Probably 3 issues a year for 4 years.
The coins are .900 fine. They are 37mm in diameter, and pretty large. The reason they are not 1 oz is their thinness-- the edgeless design, which makes them really unique looking.
I should have been more specific about my ".7" - I meant the Actual Silver Weight (ASW), not the fineness. The "From Clovis to the Republic Series," which also measure 37mm in diameter, have an ASW of approximately .6424. So they each contain slightly over a half ounce of silver. They are still beautiful coins in any case. Regardless, after buying 9 of them I started getting tired of paying the heavy premiums. But I've started feeling that way about most modern commemoratives. That's just me. You can't beat these coins for aesthetic appeal in any case.
I believe Finland used to feature more rimless design prior to the Euro. Not too sure if they still continue to do so.
Sometimes they do, yes. Now if anybody is interested in a somewhat, umm, different Joan of Arc design from the Monnaie de Paris, here we go. These two are from this year's "Silver and gold at face" series, designed by the well known fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. Images are from monnaiedeparis.fr; as the obverse is the same for all 13 issues, I combined two images: Orléans on the left, Corsica on the right ... Christian
