France hosted the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and the Monnaie de Paris issued a multi-year commemorative series beginning in 1997 to build anticipation — an unusual pre-tournament release strategy that spread collector demand across several years rather than concentrating it at the event itself. The series eventually encompassed dozens of denominations and themes, making it one of the most commercially ambitious French commemorative programs of the decade.
France hosted the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and the Monnaie de Paris issued a multi-year commemorative series beginning in 1997 to build anticipation — an unusual pre-tournament release strategy that spread collector demand across several years rather than concentrating it at the event itself. The series eventually encompassed dozens of denominations and themes, making it one of the most commercially ambitious French commemorative programs of the decade.