The new 2 euro coin is minted in Pessac

It’s a small revolution that has been at work since this summer in the factories of La Monnaie de Paris, located in Pessac, in the Gironde region. This is where the new two-euro coin is minted, “and France is the first European country to change the face of its currencies,” explains Nicolas Dumont, marketing and communications director.

Eurozone countries were only allowed to do so 15 years after the introduction of the common currency, but so far the only ones who had done it were those who had changed sovereigns, such as Spain or Belgium. Or those who had struck commemorative coins, necessarily exceptional. “

In Pessac, it is therefore everyone’s currency that changes its face. Introduced gradually since 1^er January, it combines an oak tree, symbol of strength, and an olive tree, symbol of peace, where the previous version showed an undefined tree. The two new trees are placed in front of a hexagon. Their roots lie between the letters “R” and “F”, for “French Republic”. And their branches join the twelve stars that we find in the European flag.

The image and the moment are symbolic as France takes over the presidency of the EU and as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the common currency. “We have been working on new parts for a year, and we launched production in the fall, in the greatest secrecy,” says Armelle Guglielmino, Production and Maintenance manager. The production went through the caudine forks of the Élysée and the Ministry of the Economy. “

Armelle Guglielmino speaks of “the” new coins because the euro coin is also concerned, but only for collector coins. “As it turns out, there are more one-euro coins on the market and you didn’t have to mint them for daily payments. The stocks are sufficient. “

It is therefore above all the two-euro coins which are in the process of leaving the Pessac factory. At the beginning of January 10 million have already been struck. And those with numismatic value are “only” a few tens of thousands for those called “universal brilliant” (unit value: 10 euros) and a few thousand for those called “fine proof” (20 euros). The differences ? Better shine, more nuances in the colors and a more assertive mirror effect.

As for the coins with which you pay for your baguette, the Banque de France comes to collect them as and when the needs arise. And they remain numerous despite the boom in dematerialized payments. “The European money supply has multiplied by seven between 2001 and 2022, explains Nicolas Dumont. An IFOP study establishes that 70% of French people continue to pay in cash on a daily basis, and the profile of these users is similar to all French people. Confidence in physical currency remains intact. Many even keep it at home. The phenomenon of woolen stockings has not disappeared. It has even grown for two years. “