Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
0 Franc - Freddie Mercury
| Issuer | |
|---|---|
| Year | 2021 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Oberthur Fiduciaire (Francois-Charles Oberthur Fiduciaire; FCO; Oberthur Technologies), France (1984-date) |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central vignette of the three-metre bronze statue of Freddie Mercury in Montreux, Switzerland, designed by Czech sculptor Irena Sedlecká and gifted by Queen bandmates, family and friends. Denomination "0" and inscriptions reference "Queen The Studio Experience Montreux" with star underprint. Signed by R. Faille, C.E.O. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | DASBRANENBUGERTOR TORRE DE BELEM COLOSSEO LATOUREIFFEL SAGRADAFAMILIA MANNEKEN-PIS PRINTED BY OBERTHUR FIDUCIAIRE MADE IN FRANCE SOUV ENIR |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
A commemorative fantasy note rather than legal tender — Switzerland has never issued a 0 Franc denomination, and Freddie Mercury appears on no official Swiss currency. These were produced by Oberthur Fiduciaire as a licensed collectible, part of a broader series of celebrity tribute notes that the French security printer has issued for the collector market. The format mimics sovereign currency convincingly enough that Oberthur's involvement lends it a certain production credibility, but its status as a novelty item is unambiguous.
Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946 and moved to England in his teens. The Swiss connection is Montreux, where Queen recorded extensively at Mountain Studios from 1978 and where Mercury spent much of his final years.