The Pessac facility — Monnaie de Paris's production mint in the Gironde — has struck France's circulating coinage since 1973, when operations were transferred from the historic Paris workshop on Quai de Conti. This particular gold issue is part of the ongoing "Monnaie de Paris" commemorative program that has periodically turned the institution's own infrastructure into subject matter, an unusual self-referential tendency rare among national mints.
The .920 fineness is a distinctly French standard, tracing back to Napoleonic monetary legislation rather than the more common .900 or .999 benchmarks used elsewhere.
The Pessac facility — Monnaie de Paris's production mint in the Gironde — has struck France's circulating coinage since 1973, when operations were transferred from the historic Paris workshop on Quai de Conti. This particular gold issue is part of the ongoing "Monnaie de Paris" commemorative program that has periodically turned the institution's own infrastructure into subject matter, an unusual self-referential tendency rare among national mints.
The .920 fineness is a distinctly French standard, tracing back to Napoleonic monetary legislation rather than the more common .900 or .999 benchmarks used elsewhere.