10 francs FRANCE (1988) Roland Garros

below coin centre face value: 10 F (FRANCS), in the background bird with spread wings facing left and a contour of French coast of Atlantic; above year of issue 1988; along the bottom edge: RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE (French Republic)

in the coin centre bust of French pilot facing slightly right; above aircraft Morane-Saulnier N; along the bottom edge: ROLAND GARROS; along the top edge: 1888-1918

plain with concave inscription: LIBERTÉ ÉGALITÉ FRATERNITÉ (motto of France - liberty, equality, fraternity) divided by olive branch, laurel branch and cereal ear

???  no data

1 VII 1993

Atelier de gravure (group of designers of the Paris Mint - rosette over letter "O" in ROLAND in the reverse) based on design of Harvé Duetthe (signature H.DUETTHE over the rosette in the reverse)

La Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint), Pessac (mint mark before year of issue 1988 in the obverse, after year of issue privy mark of mint's director Émile Rousseau - dolphin)

1988

29 964 011

+ 9 000 in annual boxed 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

The commemorative coin of 10 francs from 1988 commemorates the 100th anniversary of birth of Roland Garros (1888-1918) - French aviator, fighter pilot during the First World War, who was the first to shoot down the enemy using guns shooting through the propeller. This construction he developed together with airplanes designer Raymond Saulnier. Garros participated in air races. He has also set many records of flight altitude and distance.

Roland Garros and one of the types of aircrafts that he used - Morane-Saulnier N.


photo licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0

The Paris Mint (La Monnaie de Paris) dating back to the 6th century is the oldest French institution, and some would say - oldest institution in the world. The mint office is located in the center of Paris in a complex called Hotel des Monnaies, which was opened on December 20, 1775. A cornucopia is the symbol placed on any coin minted by the Paris Mint from January 1, 1880. The second character visible on coins was a symbol of the general engraver (Graveur general). The tradition of this job dates back to 1547 when Henry II of Valois appointed a general engraver as the only person authorized to create the king's portrait. Only the design prepared by the general engraver could have been copied to the coins stamps in national mints. Starting from 2001, the heads of engravers workshop in the Paris Mint do not hold this traditional title anymore, but their privy marks still appear on French coins next to the mint mark.

The name of the French mint - La Monnaie de Paris - suggests that the plant producing coins is located in the French capital. This is however, only the company name and factories were placed in various French cities. At the moment, the only place producing coins of France (and of some other countries) is Pessac near Bordeaux.