It will be available from July 2024 in limited quantities. A unique opportunity to pay homage to a crucial moment in European history and a reminder of the value of freedom and peace.
Numismatics, this art of collecting coins and notes, will soon be enriched with a historical and symbolic note. Indeed, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of France (from June 1944), a specific zero euro note will be put into circulation. This initiative, both educational and commemorative, is planned for July 2024, marking a key moment in French and European history. This special note, issued in 3,000 copies numbered from 000001 to 003000, represents a significant event: the landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944, a decisive turning point in the Second World War. It promises to be a prized collector’s item, both for its historical value and its rarity.
0 euro notes, although devoid of monetary value, are collector’s items made with the same techniques as real notes. Produced by Oberthur Fiduciaire and sold by Euro Banknote Memory, these souvenir notes feature the characteristics of bank notes: watermark, security thread, fiduciary inks, hologram and individual security number. The only difference lies in the paper used, which is slightly different from that of fiat notes, to avoid any confusion with real means of payment.
Since their introduction in 2015, these tickets have enjoyed growing success. They first targeted French tourist sites before expanding to more than 2,500 different designs from 30 countries. Initially sold for two euros, some of these banknotes have seen their value increase considerably on the collector’s market. The reverse of the 0 euro notes is standardized, with a white zero followed by the euro sign, but each series has unique illustrative variations. These variations, ranging from famous monuments to works of art, make them highly prized by collectors. For example, an erroneous ticket from 2015, the “6 geese of SARLAT”, sold for up to 5 euros each, while a ticket from the Arc de Triomphe from the same year reached significant sums on the secondary market.
The note commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of France is part of this tradition. This is a unique opportunity for collectors and history buffs to own a tangible fragment of the past, while participating in the preservation of heritage. This banknote, much more than a simple collector’s item, is a tribute to a crucial moment in European history and a reminder of the value of freedom and peace.