2 euro FRANCE (2012) Abbé Pierre

in the coin centre a bust of Abbot Pierre facing slightly right; on the left stylised letters: RF (RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE - French Republic); on the right logo stylised to logo of Abbé Pierre foundation with a difference that the figure in a coat is surrounded by multiple times repeated life motto of the priest: ET LES AUTRES? (And the others?); below year of issue 2012; along the top edge: CENTENAIRE DE LA NAISSANCE DE L'ABBE PIERRE (centenary of birth of Abbé Pierre); at the edge a ring of twelve five-pointed stars - symbol of the European Union

left from the coin centre face value: 2, on the right inscription: EURO; in the background of the inscription a map of Europe; in the background of the map vertically six parallel lines ending on both sides with five-pointed stars (the reverse is common for all euro coins)

reeded with concave inscription:

13 VII 2012

in circulation

???, Luc Luycx (initials LL below letter O in EURO in the reverse)

La Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint), Pessac (mint mark before CENTENAIRE in the obverse, below the year of issue privy mark of mint's director Yves Sampo - rosette)

2012	1 000 000	+ 500 in annual boxed sets
		+ 10 000 in boxed commemorative sets

Privy marks of the general engravers of the Mint of Paris, which can be found on French coins produced after 1944:

Lucien Bazor	1931-1958		wing
Raymond Joly	1958-1974		owl
Emile Rousseau	1974-1994		dolphin
Pierre Rodier	1994-2000		bee
Gérard Buquoy	2001-2002		horseshoe
Serge Levet	2003		heart
Hubert Larivière	2004-2010		horn
Yves Sampo	from 2011		rosette

Abbé Pierre (literally Abbot Peter) and actually Henri Marie Joseph Grouès (1912-2007) was a French Catholic priest who dedicated his life to helping the poorest. During the war he was active in the resistance under various pseudonyms, among which was also "Abbé Pierre". This nickname stuck to him after the war. In 1949, he founded an association of Emmaus, which took care of the French homeless, and soon after expanded to the whole world. In 1992 he created the Abbé Pierre Foundation, which also helps the homeless. In 2012 the foundation was therefore, celebrating its 20th anniversary and the whole France was celebrating the centenary of the birth of Abbé Pierre, what marks this commemorative coin of 2 euro from 2012.

Abbé Pierre and the logo of his foundation.