20 francs FRANCE (1992-2001)

above coin centre Mont Saint-Michel; below coin centre reflection of the mount in waves; along the top edge: RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE (French Republic)

in coin centre face value: 20 F (FRANCS); below year of issue; along the top edge: LIBERTÉ ÉGALITÉ, along the bottom one: FRATERNITÉ (liberty, equality, fraternity); in the background banches of parallel stripes

five plain and five reeded sections or four plain and four reeded in part of 1992 issue

???  no data

18 II 2002

Atelier de gravure (group of designers of the Paris Mint - rosette in the water at right flank of the mount in the obverse)

La Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint), Pessac (mint mark before year of issue in the reverse, after year of issue privy mark of mint's director Emile Rousseau - dolphin - in years 1992-1994, Pierre Rodier - bee - in years 1994-2000 or Gérard Buquoy - horseshoe - in 2001)

1992	59 966 063	dolphin	+ 2 698 in annual boxed sets
1993	54 970 011	dolphin	+ 3 095 in annual boxed sets
1994	5 000 000	dolphin
1994	9 970 061	bee	+ 3 707 in annual boxed sets
1995	9 976 011	bee	+ 4 000 in annual boxed sets
1996	12 013	bee	+ 5 000 in annual boxed sets
1997	-	bee	+ 15 000 in annual boxed sets
1998	-	bee	+ 25 000 in annual boxed sets
1999	-	bee	+ 25 000 in annual boxed sets
2000	-	bee	+ 100 000 in annual boxed sets
2001	-	horseshoe	+ 125 000 in annual boxed sets

1992 - four ot five reeded sections on the edge - among these two varieties there exist two further varieties of a set-up of parallel stripes in the reverse. It is easiest to recognise by the lines crossing above the face value in the outer ring. plain surface between the stripes has a shape of a triangle \/ or a trapezoid \_/

In years 1992 and 1993 there exist coins with reverses not rotated by 180° in respect to obverses (medal alignment in American terminology) - 2 698 and 3 095 pieces were produced in respective years and placed in annual boxed sets

1994 - coins with a privy mark of mint's director Emile Rousseau dolphin or with the privy mark of Pierre Rodier bee

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 Mont Saint-Michel is an island in the English Channel regularly dipped by tidal waves. At low tide one can get dry feet to the fortified Benedictine abbey and the town. The mount is one of the largest tourist attractions of France.



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.