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10 Euro - Chartres
| Issuer | Ville de Chartres |
|---|---|
| Year | 1998 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 30 mm |
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| Obverse description | The copper-nickel centre features a stylised reproduction of a medieval bezant of Chartres, depicting a heraldic design with a central cross-like motif flanked by ornamentation, surrounded by a border of raised pellets. The brass outer ring carries the encircling legend BESANT DE LA VILLE DE CHARTRES along the upper arc, with the inscription 12ème Siècle along the lower arc, referencing the 12th-century origin of the original coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The copper-nickel centre displays a stylised depiction of the twin spires and facade of Chartres Cathedral to the left, accompanied by a decorative Celtic-inspired spiral motif at upper centre, with the denomination numeral 10 at upper right and the word euro below it in the field. The legend de Chartres appears in the lower portion of the centre, with the engraver's signature C. CARDOT visible along the right inner edge. The brass outer ring bears twelve five-pointed stars referencing the European Union, and the inscription 1 au 30 MAI 1998 along the lower arc denoting the period of validity, with UCIA along the bottom. |
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| Additional information |
Issued under France's 1998 "Euro de Villes" program, which allowed participating municipalities to produce legal-tender collector pieces ahead of the euro's January 1999 launch. Chartres was among roughly 40 French cities that issued these pieces, each valid locally at face value during a brief window. The series was explicitly a transitional publicity exercise — the Banque de France authorized denominations in euros before the currency itself existed in any official monetary sense.
The bimetallic format was borrowed directly from the then-finalised euro coin specifications, giving the public a tactile preview of what the coinage would feel like.