For more than 40 years, the UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ) lists the sites that are part of the “world heritage cultural property sites”. Since 2007, Monnaie de Paris honours various monuments included in this list in a series of collector coins.
From 2014, a new thematic was proposed: the banks of the Seine in Paris.
In 2018, Monnaie de Paris celebrates two places in Paris: the Louvre and the Pont des Arts.
- The Louvre , the biggest museum of art and antiquity in the world.
- The Pont des art: first iron bridge in Paris, with an amazing view on the banks of the Seine.
The inside half of the obverse of the coin hemisphere shows Louvre palace, former royal palace. The Pavillon Richelieu is located between the Colbert wing and the Turgot wing. This leads to the Library Pavilion of the Library, thus opening onto Rue de Rivoli and Place du Palais-Royal. It is in front of the Pyramid.
The roof is adorned with a huge triangular pediment supported by eight caryatids.
We also discover the glass pyramid of the Louvre designed by Sino-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei, achieved in 1989. The pyramid is highlighted with a rhodium deposit embossed on the silver coins.
The words «République française» in the middle can be read if the coin is tilted 180°.
The Pont des arts occupies the second half of the coin. The arches are embellished with a gold detail on the silver coins.
The reverse, common to the whole series, is divided into two parts: the UNESCO logo and the face value are shown on the left side, and on the right there is an aerial view of the location of the two monuments. The two sides are joined by the course of the Seine across Paris.