0 Euro - Château d'Azay-le-Rideau

The zero-euro souvenir note program was launched in 2015 by Richard Faille, a French entrepreneur who licensed the European Central Bank's banknote format for commercial use after securing the necessary agreements. Oberthur prints these on the same security substrate used for genuine euro currency — watermarks, microprinting, UV-reactive ink, the full package — which is precisely the point. The notes are legal tender in name only; their face value makes them uncollectible by the ECB, and they circulate entirely as collector items sold at cultural sites.

Azay-le-Rideau's participation fits the Centre des Monuments Nationaux's broader retail strategy. The château itself was seized from its builder, the financier Gilles Berthelot, by François I in 1518 before it was even completed.