Coin Profile: A “Genius” Coin
Monnaie de Paris launches its three-year “French Genius” trilogy, honoring Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity through a historic Revolutionary symbol reimagined in gold and silver.
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité! The national motto of France has served as the nation’s value system since its adoption during the French Revolution. It has also inspired a new series by the Monnaie de Paris, the “French Genius” trilogy.
The three-coin series will take place over a three-year consecutive timespan. The purpose of the collection is to pay homage to the founding values of the French Republic (Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity) through a visual representation of the Génie (English for Genius), a naked male-like figure with angel wings and a star on its forehead, which evokes intellectual enlightenment. In French culture, the Génie represents humanism, justice, and awakening, and was a common motif in works from the French Revolution.
The first coin shows the “Genius of Liberty.” Surrounded by oak and laurel leaves, with a star balanced atop his head, the obverse illustrates a Génie holding a torch in its right hand to symbolize the light that guides the people, while the left hand holds a broken chain to signify liberation from oppression. This representation was inspired by the bronze statue of The Genius of Liberty (Génie de la Liberté) by Augustin Dumont, which stands atop the July Column in Place de la Bastille in Paris.
The coin is currently available in two styles: €250 gold and €100 silver. The €250 gold comes in universal glossy quality and weighs 1.75 grams with a 13-millimeter diameter. Upon its release, 15,000 copies were available. The €100 silver weighs 45 grams with a 47-millimeter diameter. The mintage is lower than the €250 gold, offered at 10,000 copies.
More gold varieties of the “Genius of Liberty” will be released throughout the year, including the €1,000 in March, €2,500 in May, €5,000 in September, and €10,000 in December. Following the 2026 releases are the other components of the trilogy: the “Genius of the Constitution” in 2027 and the “Genius of Fraternity” in 2028.
The “Genius of the Constitution” coin will show the Génie de la Constitution, a design by Augustin Dupré of a Génie engraving the word “Constitution” on a tablet with a stylus. Many will recognize this imagery as it has been seen on many historic French coins.
The last coin of the trilogy, the “Genius of Fraternity,” will show an unpublished image of a Génie by Dupré. The design was chosen after extensive research by the Monnaie de Paris conservation team, who found no prior use of the work in its numismatic archives.
Information about the “French Genius” trilogy and the “Genius of Liberty” coin is at monnaiedeparis.fr.
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