Since 2010, French Excellence series has combined the exceptional know-how of Comité Colbert brands or a French cultural institution with that of Monnaie de Paris to create a unique collection that combines their respective talents.
Among the major houses to have collaborated with Monnaie de Paris are Cartier, Baccarat, Sèvres-Cité de la Céramique, Van Cleef & Arpels, Guy Savoy, Boucheron, the Louvre Museum, Berluti, Dior, Lacoste, Notre Dame and Lancôme in 2025.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Musée d’Orsay, Monnaie de Paris dedicates the exceptional talent of its artisans to the museum. Conceived by Monnaie de Paris, in close partnership with the Musée d’Orsay, the French Excellence 2026 collection masterfully embodies the harmonious fusion of their two worlds.
On the obverse of this coin, several characters from iconic works interact, as if awakened beneath the glass roof, discovering the museum together.
In the foreground, François Pompon’s Ours Blanc and Vincent van Gogh’s Portrait de l'artiste stand side by side. Behind them, Edouard Manet’s Le Fifre and Claude Monet’s la Femme à l’ombrelle tournée vers la gauche complete the scene. Edgar Degas’s la Petite danseuse de quatorze ans also appears, captured inside the building in front of the large fifth-floor clock. Together, these decorative elements are incorporated into the frame of the great clock, one of the defining symbols of the Musée d’Orsay’s history.
The reverse of this gold coin highlights the architectural structure of the Musée d’Orsay. It features four flower-adorned coffers that line the nave, enclosed within a riveted metal framework that echoes the rhythm of the ceiling, unchanged since the creation of the Orsay railway station.
