French Mint Forced to destroy 27 Million Coins

Sacrebleu! In a grande gaffe of minting, the Monnaie de Paris, the French Mint, has been forced to melt down 27 million freshly-struck 10, 20 and 50 cent euro coins because the reverse side of the coins failed to conform to the strict standards of the European Commission. The blunder has cost the France mint about a million euro.

The Monnaie de Paris went ahead and produced the coins with a new pattern only to later discover that the design of the 12 stars of the EU flag was not compliant with the European Commission’s exacting requirements.

European Union law permits member countries to change the design of euro coins every 15 years, but design alterations must be OK’d by the Commission and other eurozone governments, which have one week to reject submitted design changes. France didn’t wait. Anxious to present the new coins to the French Economy and Finance Minister during a visit to the Monnaie, the Mint went ahead and ordered production of the coins. Only after 27 million coins were produced did the EC reject the design, claiming it was to difficult to see stars on the EU flag.

The 10, 20 and 50 cent euro coins are made from “Nordic Gold,” which is composed of 89% copper, 5% aluminum, 5% zinc, and 1% tin. According to the European Central Bank, the alloy is difficult to melt.

The Monnaie de Paris was founded in 864 and is considered the world’s oldest continuously running mint.