24 euro - Chamonix-Mont-Blanc [74]

The Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix was founded in 1821, making it the oldest professional mountain guiding association in the world. Its members led the first ascents of virtually every major summit in the Mont Blanc massif throughout the 19th century. This 24-euro piece — denominated in a unit with no legal tender status — was issued as a local commemorative, a practice that accelerated sharply across French municipalities in the mid-1990s as towns began exploiting collector demand ahead of the euro's pending introduction.