French euro coins

French euro coins feature three separate designs for the three series of coins. The minor series was designed by Fabienne Courtiade, the middle one by Laurent Jorio and the major two coins are by Joaquin Jimenez. All designs share the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint as well as the letters "RF" for République Française (French Republic).

French euro design

For images of the common side and a detailed description of the coins, see euro coins.

Depiction of French euro coinage | Obverse side

€ 0.01	€ 0.02	€ 0.05
Portrait of Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic.
€ 0.10	€ 0.20	€ 0.50
The sower, a theme carried over from the former franc.
€ 1.00	€ 2.00	€ 2 Coin Edge
		for a total of 12 stars
A stylised tree contained in a hexagon with the motto Liberté Egalité Fraternité

Circulating Mintage quantities

The following table shows the mintage quantity for all French euro coins, per denomination, per year (the numbers are represented in millions).

Face Value	€0.01	€0.02	€0.05	€0.10	€0.20	€0.50	€1.00	€2.00	€2.00 CC
1999	794.02	702.07	616.19	447.25	454.29	105.75	301.05	56.69	*
2000	605.23	510.12	280.06	297.43	148.95	179.50	297.27	171.12	*
2001	300.65	249.07	217.29	144.48	256.31	276.25	150.22	237.92	*
2002	0.11	0.009	186.28	206.65	192.00	226.38	129.32	153.61	*
2003	160.02	160.39	100.98	180.72	*	*	*	*	*
2004	400.03	300.02	60.16	1.47	*	*	*	*	*
2005	240.21	260.19	20.17	45.05	*	*	*	*	*
2006	343.01	283.17	132.05	60.22	*	*	*	*	*
2007	320.14	213.22	130.06	90.10	40.16	*	*	*	9.406875
2008	462.67	386.53	218.23	178.71	25.54	*	*	*	20.064
2009	437.32	343.12	184.71	142.71	82.66	*	*	*	10.06
2010	335.00	277.00	184.00	76.00	108.00	*	*	*	20.0
2011	320.118	250.128	144.9	99.878	54.936	*	*	36.024	10.032
2012	358.566	277.668	139.104	77.357	*	*	*	36.936	11.058
* No coins were minted that year for that denomination ** Data not available yet *** Small quantities minted for sets only

Future changes to national sides

The Commission of the European Communities issued a recommendation on 19 December 2008, a common guideline for the national sides and the issuance of euro coins intended for circulation. One section of this recommendation stipulates that:

Article 4. Design of the national sides:

"The national side of the euro coins intended for circulation should bear the 12 European stars that should fully surround the national design, including the year mark and the indication of the issuing Member State's name. The European stars should be depicted as on the European flag."

Since French euro coins have part of the national design outside of the 12 stars of the union, a new design on the French euro coins is expected in the near future to comply with these new guidelines, although nothing has officially been announced yet.

External links

• The visual characteristics of the Euro coins: France Official Journal of the European Communities
• euoHOBBY France