20 Euros Year of the Rat

France's Lunar series, issued through Monnaie de Paris, targets the overseas Chinese community and international collector market rather than domestic circulation — these pieces are struck purely as numismatic products and see no monetary use. The Rat opens the twelve-year zodiac cycle, making 2020 the first installment of a new series rotation. Mintage on these issues is tightly capped, and the .9999 fineness — finer than the more common .999 standard — reflects a deliberate positioning against competing lunar bullion programs from the Perth and Royal Canadian mints.