4306) Concorde - Supersonic Aviation History, Republic of France (Republique Francaise): 50th Anniversary of the Concorde (1976-2026): Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint) has issued Gold and Silver Proof Coins to Mark the Exceptional Supersonic Aircraft: Date/Year of Coins issue: 20.01.2026:
The Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint) has issued 1000, 200 and 50 Euro (Gold) and 20 and 10 Euro (Silver) Proof Coins featuring the advent and ingenuity of Concorde.
This year, the World of Aviation celebrates and remembers the 50th Anniversary of the Concorde’s first commercial flight.
A true technological gem and an engineering marvel, Concorde was a revolutionary Anglo-French supersonic airliner.
Capable of flying passengers at over twice the speed of sound - Mach 2 or, around 1,354 mph and flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet, passengers on board could actually see views of the Earth's curvature.
The revolutionary and advanced design featured an iconic delta wing, narrow fuselage, turbojet-powered engines and a droop nose to improve visibility during take-off and landing.
With a total of 20 Concorde’s built, 10 each in Britain and 10 in France, the Concorde was a symbol of modernity and continuously the holder of speed records for commercial flight.
The famous supersonic aircraft took their first flight commercially on the 21st of January 1976 with two simultaneous flights departing from the partner countries that developed it - France and Great Britain.
One of the aircraft that took off from Paris flew to Rio de Janeiro via Dakar, Senegal while the other Concorde airplane departed from London and flew to Bahrain.
Scheduled Concorde flights entered service in 1976 with British Airways and Air France, flying popular transatlantic routes.
Concorde drastically cut Paris to New York City flight times to around 3 and a half hours, routinely seating 100 passengers, but could accommodate up to 128 in a narrow cabin which offered luxury at supersonic speeds.
Concorde's crew members usually included six cabin attendants and an aircrew of three comprising two pilots and one flight engineer.
Initially, with Concorde’s launch, the cost of a one-way ticket was priced around $1000 but rose significantly over time. Towards the last decade of their service, a typical one-way ticket from New York to London could cost between $10,000 and $12,000.
Concorde faced environmental issues such as ‘sonic booms’ during landing which limited overland flights and restricted routes.
The service also faced additional economic challenges such as high fuel consumption which required one ton of jet fuel per seat for a transatlantic flight and expensive maintenance made it a costly venture.
Despite the cost of a ticket, and some periods of profitability, the Concorde service was not a long-term commercial success and talks of retiring the fleet were mentioned at governmental levels near the late 1990’s.
Unexpectedly, a fatal crash occurred on the 25th July 2000 when Air France Flight 4590 crashed shortly after take-off with all 109 passengers and crew as well as four bystanders on the ground killed.
This was the only fatal incident involving Concorde but commercial service was suspended until November 2001.
Air France flew its last commercial flight on the 30th May 2003 and British Airways retired their Concorde fleet on the 24th October the same year, ending supersonic passenger flight, 27 years after commercial operations had begun. Today, eighteen of the 20 aircraft built are preserved and are on display in Europe and North America.
On the Reverse of the Gold and Silver Coins, a composition features a representation of the Concorde seen from above and is placed in the centre.
- In place of its right delta wing is a representation of the Eiffel Tower. Its shape, resembling that of the supersonic aircraft, blends perfectly with the shape of Concorde.
- The fusion of these elements recalls both the nationality of France’s fleet of Concorde and its first take-off location.
- On either side of the central design are vertical lines evoking the aircraft's blazing speed.
- The text "CONCORDE" and "DE LA MISE EN SERVICE DU CONCORDE" is shown in a vertical direction.
- To the upper left of the Concorde depiction is the year 2026 and shown on the right, the anniversary text "50 ANS".
- This face highlights the most prestigious destinations served by Air France's Concorde, that of New York and Rio.
- The design features the Concorde flying at full speed over Rio Bay, recognisable by the Corcovado seen from behind and Sugarloaf Mountain.
- Above the aircraft, New York is represented by the face of the Statue of Liberty dominating the iconic Manhattan skyline of the late 20th century, in which the twin towers of the World Trade Centre can be seen.
- The face value "200 or 50 EURO (Gold) 10 EURO (Silver) shown in stylised lettering is shown to the upper right of Liberty’s image and the letters RF are positioned to the lower left, completing the design.
The Obverse of the Gold and Silver Coins on the face value coin range include the current standard motif of the geometrical design of shapes arranged in different positions creating a series of borders which encircle the text "REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE" and a laurel wreath of sprigs of olive and oak branches.
The denomination of "EURO 1000 (Gold) 10 or 20 (Silver)" is arranged in the centre.
Denomination Metal Weight Diameter Quality Mintage Limit
10 Euro .333 Silver 13 gr. 31 mm. UNC 15,000 pieces
20 Euro .999 Silver 22.2 g. 37 mm. Proof 4000 pieces
50 Euro .999 Gold 7.78 g. 22.2 mm. Proof 500 pieces
200 Euro .999 Gold 31.1 g. 37 mm. Proof 200 pieces
1000 Euro .999 Gold 6.5 g. 23 mm. UNC 2026 pieces
- Available from the 20th January, each coin in the collector range is encapsulated and presented in a custom case accompanied with a certificate of authenticity.
- The range of face value coins are presented in a colourful folder (€10) or, encapsulated and presented in a custom case (€1000).
Links:
Links:
1) For more on the Olympics and Paralympics held in the past, including the origins and history of the Olympics and Commemorative coins issued both on London Olympics and Paralympics please read my post on the London Olympics 2012 link as follows: History of the ancient & modern Olympics and Paralympics & commemorative coins issued during the London Olympics and Paralympics
4) For Rio 2016, please click on the following link to get interesting insights into the mascots of the Rio Olympics Vinicius and Tom, the Games and the Commemorative Coins and stamps issue programme: 1)The 31st Summer Olympics "Rio 2016"2) Commemorative Stamps and booklets issued by the Department of Posts, India on 05.08.2016
5) For Ancient Olympic Games on Greek Coins of Antiquity, please click on the following link: Ancient Olympic Games on Greek Coins of Antiquity
6) For a set of Post cards titled "Olympic Events" : please click on the following link: "Olympic Events": A set of 12 Post Cards issued by the Karnataka Postal Circle, India Post on 11.07.2016
7) For a presentation set of two stamps titled "Spirit of Olympics, Athens, Atlanta" please visit the following link: Spirit of the Olympic Games, Athens-Atlanta: Celebrating the Centenary of the Modern Olympic Games
8) For a presentation set of four stamps titled "XXVIII Olympic Games" (2004 Summer Olympics Athens, Greece, please visit the following link: XVIII Summer Olympic Games, Athens Greece (2004)
9) For a presentation set of two stamps titled "XXIX Olympic Games" (2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing, China, please visit the following link: XXIX Olympic Games Beijing, China: 08.08.08- 24.08.08: A Presentation set of four stamps issued by India Post on 08.08.08
Links to the Mutiny on the Bounty Coins/Stamps:
Links to other posts in Metropolis Tiffany Art Coin Series:
Rajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very informative post."
Thank you so much Trikha sahab.
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