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ECU European Community
| Issuer | France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1996 |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Stylized outline map of France occupies the central field, with the denomination ECU inscribed across its center. Twelve five-pointed stars of the European Union border the design, arranged in two groups of six flanking the map on either side. The legends FRANCE, ECU, and the date 1996 appear in the field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | FRANCE ECU 1996 |
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| Additional information |
The ECU was never legal tender in France — it existed as a unit of account defined by a basket of European Community member currencies, pegged by treaty rather than minted for commerce. France issued silver ECU pieces through the Monnaie de Paris as collector items, a practice that sidestepped the unit's purely notional status while cashing in on pre-euro enthusiasm. By 1996, the Maastricht Treaty had already set the timetable for the single currency, making these late ECU issues something of a farewell series — the denomination they reference was formally replaced by the euro at a fixed 1:1 rate on January 1, 1999.