Issued under France's ongoing "Masterpieces of French Art" program, this piece belongs to a collector-oriented series that has drawn criticism in some quarters for treating the national mint as a luxury goods producer. The source painting — Delacroix's 1830 canvas, now in the Louvre — was completed in direct response to the July Revolution that ousted Charles X, and Delacroix himself admitted he did not participate in the fighting but wanted to paint for his country regardless.
At 155.50 g of .999 gold, the production cost alone is considerable, and Monnaie de Paris issues at this weight tier are typically struck in very limited numbers with correspondingly aggressive issue prices.
Issued under France's ongoing "Masterpieces of French Art" program, this piece belongs to a collector-oriented series that has drawn criticism in some quarters for treating the national mint as a luxury goods producer. The source painting — Delacroix's 1830 canvas, now in the Louvre — was completed in direct response to the July Revolution that ousted Charles X, and Delacroix himself admitted he did not participate in the fighting but wanted to paint for his country regardless.
At 155.50 g of .999 gold, the production cost alone is considerable, and Monnaie de Paris issues at this weight tier are typically struck in very limited numbers with correspondingly aggressive issue prices.