Do you really? The Sower on the French coins has been modified a little, or more than a little, in the past couple of years. Look at this coin (a half franc piece) for example, with Roty's "original" design ... http://boutique.monnaiedeparis.fr/images/francs/g50cf.jpg ... compare it to the somewhat simplified version on the 2 francs coin ... http://boutique.monnaiedeparis.fr/images/francs/g2ff.jpg ... and then have a look at the new semeuse: http://boutique.monnaiedeparis.fr/images/euro/Fr50c.jpg Nevertheless, that set is nice, and the price seems fine to me Christian
I think the original is one of the nicest designs ever to be on a coin. It inspired our own Walking Lib, obviously (I think). I am not a huge fan of the new versions, other than the act that they remind me of the original.
Thanks for the feedback guys, and yeah, I think I like the original better. But nonetheless, I'm on a never ending quest to get all the euros! lol
They are made in Pessac, near Bordeaux. Production of the euro and cent coins started in May 1998. But the French pieces only show "1999" and later, since Jan-1999 was when the euro was launched as a currency unit. (Other mints also started making euro coins in 1998 but picked 2002 as the earliest year appearing on the coins, because Jan-2002 was when the euro cash became legal tender.) As you will have noticed, the French circulation coins do not have the full country name, just the abbreviation "RF". On the 1, 2 and 5 cent coins, designed by Fabienne Courtiade, you see Marianne (symbolizing freedom and the republic http://www.elysee.fr/ang/instit/symb6.htm ). The 10, 20 and 50 ct pieces show the Sower (Semeuse, an allegory of fertility); this "updated version" was designed by Laurent Jorio. The 1 and 2 euro coins designed by Joaquím Jiménez show a hexagon with a tree (symbol of life). If you look at a map, you will note that France vaguely resembles a hexagon ... Christian
