500 Francs Romy Schneider, Small module

Romy Schneider died in Paris in May 1982, and the circumstances surrounding her death — ruled a cardiac arrest, following the accidental death of her teenage son David just fourteen months earlier — kept her in the French public consciousness in a way that outlasted most of her contemporaries. This coin was issued as part of a broader Monnaie de Paris series honoring figures from French cultural life, though Schneider was Austrian-born and only became associated with France through her years working with directors including Claude Sautet.

The "small module" designation distinguishes it from a larger-format companion issue released the same year.