Photos:  ©Monnaie de Paris

On the occasion of the centenary of the First World War, Monnaie de Paris, France’s longest standing institution and the oldest enterprise in the world, launched today the first coin made with Fairmined certified gold in France.

The coin called “Paix” (Peace in French) was struck in the heart of Monnaie de Paris workshops in the presence of the Colombian miner, Alfredo Gonzales. Alfredo works hard every day to practice responsible extraction and attended the event representing Fairmined artisanal mining organizations from Colombia and Peru, where the responsible gold in the coin comes from.

Monnaie de Paris is taking a leadership role, setting a positive example for other mints to support responsible artisanal gold miners. Furthermore it provides French and European coin collectors with an opportunity to support Fairmined certified mining organizations and purchase a coin made with this very rare and ethical certified gold.

The cooperation between Monnaie de Paris and the Alliance for Responsible Mining, creators of the Fairmined Standard, was introduced by the European coin company Samlerhuset. They have helped Fairmined to build good business opportunities in the coin industry and have confirmed a large order of the Fairmined Gold French Coin to be offered through their coin collector markets across Europe.

We also want to highlight the work of our Fairmined Authorized Supplier Patrick Schein, director of Gold by Gold, who provides the French market with Fairmined Gold.