The European Commission rejected these new coins on the grounds that the stars representing Europe were illegible, forcing the Mint to destroy the coins.
An “evaluation” was launched after the striking of 27 million non-compliant coins by the Monnaie de Paris, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said on Friday. “There seems to have been an internal dysfunction,” said Bercy, which sits on the board of the public establishment. Therefore, an “evaluation” has been decided to “bring transparency” and understand what happened.
According to media reports, the CEO of the Monnaie de Paris, Marc Schwartz, had 27 million coins of 10, 20 and 50 cents struck with a new design at the end of 2023, without waiting for the green light from the European Commission. However, the institution rejected these new coins on the grounds that the stars representing Europe were illegible, forcing the Mint to destroy the coins. Marc Schwartz blamed the “French government” for this blunder.
Ongoing evaluation
At Bercy, it is emphasized that while the design of the coin is a “political decision” made by the government, the “technical detail” of their production is the responsibility of the Monnaie de Paris. However, the ministry does not want to point the finger at any one responsible until the evaluation is completed. This could be concluded as early as February.
The amount of the loss caused by the error in striking has yet to be determined, as the metal used for the 27 million coins can be melted down to produce other coins. Bercy insists that these millions of coins represent only a tiny fraction of the 1.4 billion coins struck each year by the Monnaie de Paris. The ministry also points out that the design of the euros struck in France had never changed since the introduction of the common currency in the early 2000s.
However, European regulations from 2012 and 2014 have made the prior striking procedure more stringent. The Monnaie de Paris was not immediately available for comment on this information.
The Monnaie de Paris produces a coin featuring the basilica of Saint-Julien de Brioude.
With AFP
