Monnaie de Paris dates to the Edict of Pîtres in 864 AD, making it one of the oldest continuously operating institutions in the world and France’s oldest enterprise. It struck the coin that became Europe’s circulating gold standard: the 20-franc Napoleon, first issued in 1803.
Through the 19th and early 20th centuries the Napoleon — in its many designs from Bonaparte to the Republic’s Rooster — anchored the Latin Monetary Union, the template shared by the Swiss, Italian and Belgian 20-franc coins. Hundreds of millions were minted, which is why the Napoleon remains one of the cheapest, most liquid gold coins in Europe today.