50 euros Pegasus Bridge

Issued to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, this coin commemorates the glider assault on the Caen Canal bridge in the early hours of June 6, 1944 — the first Allied ground action of Operation Overlord. Six Horsa gliders carrying men of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry touched down within meters of the target at 0016 hours, a feat of navigation that remains extraordinary given the conditions. Major John Howard's force held the bridge against counterattacks until relieved by commandos later that morning.