1 euro d'Argentré-Du-Plessis [35]

Argentré-du-Plessis issued this brass piece in 1998 as part of the wave of French municipal "euro" tokens produced ahead of the single currency's 1999 introduction — a marketing exercise that let small communes plant their name on a quasi-monetary object before the real euro made such gestures impossible. The town sits in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, with a population that barely clears 4,000, making its participation in the craze more civic pride than economic ambition. Mintages for these municipal issues were typically driven by souvenir demand, not circulation, and most examples survive in the condition they left the counter.