Paris Mint: My tour.

renman95

One museum in Paris that I have not visited in my 21 years of traveling here is the Monnaie de Paris. It's been under restoration for a long time. I believe it opened in 2017. I finally had a layover long enough and not on a Monday to finally make the trek. It was open at 11am, cost 10 euros and there was no one in line...a rarity in Paris. The layout was a bit confusing but once a I got going it presented itself well, about 3 hours. The Museum has a well stocked bar which I thought was funny, but very French.

I took the metro from Bercy to St. Michel and walked along the River Seine to the Museum.

Monnaie de Paris

Metal presentations: There were vignettes for copper, brass, bronze, zinc, tin, nickel, silver, gold, platinum

Louis XIV Gold Medal Gallery: Petite Academie, 1661, created by Colbert for the "glory of the king".

Reducing Machine
Early 20th Century
cast iron, steel

Edge Markings: Dating back to the 16th Century to counter the clipping of gold and silver coins.

...1910 $10, 1851 $20...

Paris Mint over the centuries...
For identification, from 1389 onwards, Paris is represented by a dot under the 18th letter of the legend. In 1540, the secret dot was replaced by the letter "A". This principle was ended in 1880 when the provincial mints were closed, giving Monnaie de Paris a monopoly.

Interesting Eiffel 'coin' in their shop.

I dove into this joint on my way back to hotel...

...and had a foo-foo drink, a gin mojito.

BillDugan1959

It's been at least eleven years since my last visit, and I might have only been in the sales area on that occasion. The Museum appears to be greatly enhanced. However, there was no entrance fee last time I visited!

Namvet69

The early screw press is awesome. What a beauty of machinists skill. Thanks. Peace Roy

Paradisefound

Wonderful trip ended with refreshing Mojito Thank you for sharing with a pictures ..... nice virtual trip for me.

Kudbegud

Looks entirely fascinating. You made the right choice to tour this great museum. I'll bet you could spend more time there.

Barndog

Watching the Broncos?

renman95

@Barndog said:
Watching the Broncos?

Nah, it was Falcons/Eagles...4 minutes left. I dint look. ;-)

bolivarshagnasty

Looks like a worthwhile side trip. Thanks for sharing.

1630Boston

Thanks for sharing your experience

jmski52

Very nice, pardner. I toured the Canadian Mint in Ottawa a few weeks ago, but they wouldn't let anyone take pics!

BillDugan1959

@jmski52 said:
Very nice, pardner. I toured the Canadian Mint in Ottawa a few weeks ago, but they wouldn't let anyone take pics!

The bulk of high-speed modern French coinage production is in Pessac, a suburb of Bordeaux. Couple hundred miles to the South and West.

Of course, there are 'ateliers' in the Monnaie de Paris for medal production and the production of jewelry and small sculptures. These can sometimes be visited.

ricko

Great post and thank you for the tour......Though I would like to have seen the wine list there.... Cheers, RickO

Coinstartled

Great thread Renski. Paris has the coolest looking buildings.

SaorAlba

I have been to Monnaie de Paris twice, last time in 2000. I don't remember ever paying to see the museum though, but I did buy a lot in the shop though.

Smudge

Nice report, thanks. If I am ever in Paris......

Justacommeman

Great report!!!!!! I enjoy it immensely

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bsshog40

Very cool!

SurfinxHI

Your reports are definitely no.1 in my book!

thefinn

Very nice, The Paris Mint was very important to the coinage of Great Britain, the U.S. and Canada. At one time, it was the most innovative and had the most skilled workers in the world.

RB1026

I've never seen any of this before. VERY interesting and historic! Thank you for sharing!

BryceM

Great post. I love Paris. Been a couple years. Wasn’t aware of this museum & I’ll make plans to see it next time.

Elmhurst

I visited the museum in about 2000.