In 2021,
Monnaie de Paris inaugurated a series focused on literary styles and authors
who have marked literature history in France and abroad. After celebrating poetry in 2021 and theatre in
2022, Monnaie de Paris will honour the famous adventure author Alexandre Dumas
in 2024, for the 180th anniversary of the publication of The Three Musketeers.
The obverse
of these collector coins depicts Alexandre Dumas facing his iconic characters:
the Four Musketeers. They seem to have turned against him, pointing their
swords at the author's nose. The famous phrase from the novel is inscribed on
Dumas's shoulder: "One for all and all for one". His name and dates
of birth and death are inscribed at the top and bottom of the coin, and the
yeardate is in his collar.
The reverse
side is common to the entire "Art of the Quill" series. Several
iconic quotations can be read, such as Voltaire’s “Le mieux est l’ennemi du
bien », Dante Alighieri’s « Lasciate ogne speranza voi
ch'intrate », William Shakespeare’s « To be or not to be : that is
the question » or Nietzsche’s « Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich
stärker ». A feather is engraved in the center of the coin and underneath
is the title of the series. The acronym « RF » appears in the lower
part of the coin, along with the hallmark of Joaquin Jimenez and the engraving
workshop.
