La qualité "Belle Épreuve" est la plus haute qualité numismatique devant les qualités "Brillant Universel" (BU) et "courante". Une pièce belle épreuve est une pièce obtenue au moyen de coins et de flans spécialement préparés et de conditions de frappe particulières, de sorte que les motifs de gravure ressortent avec une grande netteté et que la surface est sans défaut. Les fonds de la gravure sont extrêmement brillants, les reliefs sont matés.
Mintage
500
Millésime
2023
Valeur faciale
50€
On the
obverse, a crocodile, representing both René Lacoste and the brand he founded,
is hugging the coin’s upper edge. Placed on a sandy background evoking
Roland-Garros clay courts, the crocodile overlooks the silhouette of the tennis
champion i...
On the
obverse, a crocodile, representing both René Lacoste and the brand he founded,
is hugging the coin’s upper edge. Placed on a sandy background evoking
Roland-Garros clay courts, the crocodile overlooks the silhouette of the tennis
champion in action on the court, symbolized by perpendicular lines. A ball lies
next to the crocodile’s head.
The coin’s reverse is divided into three
distinct areas, referring to a tennis ball seen from above. The first has the
texture of a crocodile skin; the second, that of the Lacoste polo shirt cotton
piqué; and the third one, that of a tennis racket stringing. In the middle of
the coin, the face value takes center stage, with its 0 represented by a golf
ball, a tribute to the sport René Lacoste’s wife, the champion Simone Thion de
La Chaume, practiced with brio.
The Collection
Founded in 864, Monnaie of Paris is the oldest company in the world. It has cultivated tradition in the metal artworks for twelve centuries. As such, it is an associate member of Colbert Committee, gathering the greatest French luxury companies.
In 2014, Monnaie of Paris is celebrating its 1150th anniversary. For this occasion, Monnaie of Paris is launching a new collection named "French Excellence". The aim is to highlight every year one of the art crafts that constitute the unique heritage of French luxury, by working with one major house belonging to Colbert Committee.
It is obviously the meeting of two great French houses, the Louvre and Monnaie de Paris, that nourishes this edition, but also the meeting of know-how several centuries apart. It is actually a great emotion to engrave again these historical motifs as the craftsmen of the time were able to do in their time. I feel like I am in the shoes of the Pharaoh's personal engraver more than three millennia later.
Engraver word
Our craftman
THE ENGRAVER
Trained at the best schools, they have the years of experience behind them necessary to master all aspects of the craft. Using industrial oil-based modelling clay and working from a design executed freehand or with CAD software, they skilfully fashion a low relief model in order to enhance the engraving and the way it catches the light. They work alternately with concave and convex plaster moulds until satisfied they have achieved the best 3D rendering of the design.
THE MINTER
The first minters began to ply their trade in France when striking with a hammer appeared in the 4th century BC. Nowdays, minsters use press instead of a hammer. Their knowledge of dies, engraving and metals, and their expertise - passed seamlessly down from one generation to the next for centuries - guarantees the excellence of their work.
