Gustave Eiffel - centenary of his death

In 2023, to mark the centenary of Gustave Eiffel's death, Monnaie de Paris pay tribute to him through a collection of coins highlighting the man and his work.

The idea of mixing metal rivets with the portrait of Gustave Eiffel came from the heart of his iconic work, the Eiffel Tower itself. The riveted metal structure, essential to the Tower's structure, symbolises the solidity, strength and ingenuity of his work. In this way, I wanted to represent the profound link between the man and his work. This collection is imbued with respect and admiration for the ingenuity of this exceptional man, who elevated architecture to an art form.

Engraver word

The world's first connected coin!

This special €25 silver coin includes an NFC chip which, when scanned from a smartphone, immediately reveals the coin's technical specifications. It also enables the owner of the coin to register for a digital certificate on the blockchain, from the dedicated Monnaie de Paris mobile application. In addition, the NFC chip provides privileged access to a selection of content dedicated to Gustave Eiffel and his work, accessible from the application. The owner of the product will be able to consult documents from the archives of the Musée d'Orsay, selected by Monnaie de Paris and the association of Gustave Eiffel's descendants. Perfectly invisible, the NFC chip is housed on the reverse of the coin, under a resin stamped with the top of the Eiffel Tower. The colouring, faithful to the original colour of the Tower, highlights this technological and industrial innovation.

Emblematic coins

The face of the coin features a portrait of Gustave Eiffel. The portrait has been worked so that his facial features, hair and clothes are made of rivets, as if Gustave Eiffel were one with the metal structures he imagined throughout his life. The reverse of the coin features representations of some of the architect's major works. At its centre is the Eiffel Tower seen from above, as well as the Statue of Liberty, the Garabit viaduct, the aeroplane designed by Gustave Eiffel, the L.E. (Laboratoire Eiffel) and the Maria Pia bridge in Porto, which straddles the face value.