1,5 euro de Montpellier [34] - Piéfort

Montpellier's 1997 local currency issue belongs to the wave of French municipal "euro" tokens struck in anticipation of EMU adoption, a marketing phenomenon that swept hundreds of French towns between 1996 and 1999. Municipalities paid private mints — primarily Monnaie de Paris subsidiaries and independent medal houses — to produce these pieces for use in participating shops during designated promotional weeks. The department number 34 in the name is simply Hérault's INSEE code.

The piéfort designation here means the blank was struck at roughly double the normal flan thickness using the standard dies. French piéforts of this municipal type were sold as collector premiums alongside the circulation strikes, typically in mintages under 500.