4356) Agatha Christie (United Kingdom), Republic of France (Republique Francaise): "La Art de la Plume (The Art of the Pen/Writing) Coin Series": Two 10€ (Ten Euro) Silver Proof Coins and 50 Euro Gold Coins issued by the Monnae de Paris (The Paris Mint) depicts the detective fiction writer: Year of Coin issue: 27.02.2026:
Links to "La Art de la Plume (The Art of Writing) Coin Series:
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In 2021, Monnaie de Paris started a new series of Gold Coins dedicated to literature.
After celebrating Dante Alighieri and Jean de La Fontaine in 2021, the Monnaie de Paris (the Paris Mint) at the beginning of 2022 celebrated Moliere and the Theatre by honouring William Shakespeare, a major playwright who continues to inspire artists around the world by releasing Gold and Silver Coins on them.
The following Authors/Writers have been covered so far:
Year Theme / Author
Honoured/ Coin Highlights:
2021 Poetry Coins featuring quotes from poets; launch of the series.
2022 Playwrights & Theatre Honoured figures like Molière and Shakespeare.
2023 Novels Focused on influential novelists.
2024 The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas) €100 silver coin featuring D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.
2025 Jules Verne 20€ 1/10 oz gold coin (proof quality) celebrating Verne’s imaginative works.
2026 Agatha Christie Coins dedicated to Christie’s detective fiction, including Hercule Poirot
Details of the works of Agatha Christie contained year-wise:
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920), The Secret Adversary (1922), The Murder on the Links (1923), The Man in the Brown Suit (1924), The Secret of Chimneys (1925), The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926), The Big Four (1927), The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928), The Seven Dials Mystery (1929), Giant’s Bread (1930), The Murder at the Vicarage (1930), The Sittaford Mystery (1931), Peril at End House (1932), Lord Edgware Dies (1933), Murder on the Orient Express (1934), Unfinished Portrait (1934), Why Didn’t they ask Evans (1934), Three Act Tragedy (1934), Death In the Clouds (1935), The ABC Murders (1936), Murder in Mesopotamia (1936), Cards on the Table (1936), Dumb Witness (1937), Death on the Nile (1937), Appointment with Death (1938), Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (1938), Murder is Easy (1939) And Then There were None (1939), Sad Cypress (1940), One Two, Buckle my Shoe (1940), Evil Under the Sun (1941), N or M (1941), The Body in the Library (1942), Five Little Pigs (1942), The Moving Finger (1942), Towards Zero (1944), Absent in the Spring (1944), Death Comes as the End (1944), Sparkling Cyanide (1945), The Hollow (1946), Taken at the Flood (1948), The Rose and the Yew Tree (1948), Crooked House (1949), A Murder is Announced (1950), They came to Baghdad (1951), Mrs. McGinty’s Dead (1952), They do it with Mirrors (1952), A Daughter’s a Daughter (1952), After the Funeral (1953), A Pocket Full of Rye (1953), Destination Unknown (1954), Hickory Dickory Dock (1955), Dead Man’s Polly (1956), The Burden (1956), 4.50 from Paddington (1957), Ordeal By Innocence (1958), Cat Among the Pigeons (1959), The Pale Horse (1951), The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side (1962), The Clocks (1963), A Caribbean Mystery (1964), At Bertram’s Hotel (1965), Third Girl (1966), Endless Night (1967), By the Pricking of my Thumbs (1968), Hallowe’en Party (1969), Passenger to Frankfurt (1970), Nemesis (1971), Elephants Can Remember (1972), Postern of Fate (1973), Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case (1975), Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple’s Last Case (1976).
The following detail has been written by Agatha Christie’s grandson Matthew Prichard and is a highly interesting commentary on her life and literary works:
The following is an abridged version of Prichard’s narrative. (The headings have been inserted by me):
Agatha Christie’s birth and early/formative years (1890-1909):
“On 15 September 1890, in the seaside town of Torquay, Frederick and Clara Miller had a baby girl, my grandmother. She was named Agatha Mary Clarissa and her birth would transform the history of 20th century detective fiction. The young Agatha lived at Ashfield with her sister Madge and brother Monty in a comfortable middle-class environment.
She was educated at home, where reading was a priority, and she loved to read story-books (which was permitted after munch). Her mother would narrate the works of Charles Dickens and various English Classics to her, which she never forgot.
Agatha loved pets. Her canary Goldie became a character in a “secret saga” she devised as a child, while her first dog, George Washington, was a fifth birthday present from her American father.
Sadly, she was only 11 when her father died, but in these predominantly happy surroundings, the foundations of reading and before long, writing were laid. She grew up in an atmosphere of laughter, purpose and enjoyment, which she was to later transmit to others. Looking back on her early years, Agatha acknowledged her good fortune: “One of the luckiest things in life,” she said, “is to have a happy childhood”.
At Paris, Cairo and during the outbreak of World War I, her first novel meets with rejection (1910-1918):
In 1910, after two years spent in Paris studying music, Agatha went to stay in Cairo to come out as a debutante. The objective was to meet suitable young men and Agatha would have her fair share of flirtations and proposals during the three-month visit. Wearing monstrous hats at a great many dances, she would emerge from the experience “like a butterfly from a chrysalis”.
Back in England, on 12 October 1912, she met Archibald Christie. The couple had a somewhat turbulent courtship but would ultimately marry on 24 December 1914.
The First World War had broken out, and during Archie’s frequent absences as an officer in the Royal Flying Corps, Agatha kept busy at home.
She enrolled as a Volunteer Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse in a Red Cross Hospital in Torquay where she witnessed operations and amputations, and learned some important lessons in humanity, life and death.
But perhaps more significantly, in October 1915 Agatha began working at a hospital dispensary and it was there that she would acquire a very useful working knowledge of poisons.
Drawing upon her new experiences, in 1916, she wrote her first detective story, “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, basing the nationality of her detective, Hercule Poirot, on that of the Belgian Refugees who had arrived in Torquay. When the finished article was submitted to a publisher, however, it was rejected. “It was a plain refusal, with no frills on it”.
Undeterred, more novels follow the first one published in 1920 (1919-1937):
The next phase of Agatha’s life began in August 1919 with the birth of her daughter Rosalind. A year later, following further rejections, “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” was finally published in the USA in October 1920 by US Publisher John Lane (and in the UK in January 1921) albeit for no significant financial benefit due to the terms of her contract.
Around January 1922, Archie and Agatha went on a 10 month tour to promote the forthcoming British Empire Exhibition, during which they visited South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Canada. Five more books followed, including “The Man in the Brown Suit” and the Secret of Chimneys”. Agatha was very short of money and Archie was struggling to find employment.
Eventually, Archie found a financial job in the City. The family moved to Sunningdale, where Archie could indulge his passion for golf, but despite the improvement in their fortunes, in August 1926, broke the news that he wanted to marry someone else. This news coming four months after Agatha’s mother’s death, led her into a deep depression. Around this time, she wrote her sixth novel “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” which was notable for its sleight of hand and was published to great success.
Neither the success of this novel, nor a new publisher – William Collins – was enough to console Agatha, who received treatment for amnesia and depression.
These misfortunes constituted the nadir of her life, culminating in April 1928 when her divorce from Archie was finalised.
Early in 1930, she met a young archaeologist, Max Mallowan, on an impromptu trip to Iraq and later that year they were married at Edinburgh. Unsurprisingly, when Agatha rediscovered love and acquired a passion for archaeology, her literary career took off too.
Even during the period when she wrote some of her finest works, her priorities remained clear – “I don’t think even then, that I considered myself a bona fide author …. I was a married woman, that was my status and that was my occupation. As a sideline, I wrote books”. Max and Agatha travelled several times abroad.
Some sideline it was! In the 10 years after she married Max, she published more than 20 books, including her two most famous works – “Murder on the Orient Express” (1934 and “And Then There Were None” (1939).
Despite many other commercial and literary tours de force nothing has since eclipsed their success or renown.
In addition, in her 1930 publication “The Murder at the Vicarage”, Agatha introduced her readers to a new solver of crimes, Miss Marple.
For fun, she also indulged in two romantic novels – “Giant’s Bread (1930) and “Unfinished Portrait” (1934) written under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. She also found time to accompany Max to Iraq and Syria, assisting with the cleaning of pots and archaeological photography. She had a great fondness for archaeological sites in Ur in Iraq. Her trips included archaeological visits to Luxor, Egypt etc. She wrote “A great wave of happiness surges over me ….. how complete and satisfying this life is”.
The years through World War II, during which her prolific writing continues (1938-1949):
Two events of a contrasting nature occurred at the end of the 1930s.
First, in 1938, Agatha bought Greenway on the River Dart in Devon, which was to be her holiday home for the rest of her life – it would never replace Ashfield, but was nevertheless a great joy to her. (Agatha wrote many books at Winterbrook House, where she lived happily with Max from 1934 until her death in 1976)
Secondly, she would endure the outbreak of war once again, though in truth it had no effect on her work – “I never found any difficulty in writing during the war” she said “I cut myself off into a different compartment of my mind”.
The war years and the period immediately afterwards produced a number of new titles “N or M” (1941) was the second novel to feature he young sleuthing duo – Tommy and Tuppence.
“The Body in the Library” (1942) regarded as many people’s favourite Miss Marple title; “Five Little Pigs” (1942), a brilliant Poirot novel; “Absent in the Spring” (1944), Agatha’s favourite Mary Westmacott title which she penned in three days and “Come, Tell Me How You Live” (1946), a charming informal account of life on archaeological digs with Max.
World War II did not leave her family unscathed, nevertheless, her book sales scale over 50 million worldwide (1950-1959):
1950-1959: But, Agatha did not escape the effects of war, in 1940, her daughter married a Welsh soldier, Hubert Prichard and I was born in September 1943, but Hubert was killed in action in Normandy in 1944.
About my father, Agatha wrote “I think …. that there had always been something about Hubert – not exactly melancholy, but that touch or look of someone who is not fated for long life. He was a dear person …. I wish I had had a greater chance to know him better.”
Despite the war ending so sadly, Agatha’s writing proved irrepressible, with “Crooked House” (one of her favourites) appearing in 1949.
With estimated book sales of 50 million worldwide, the 1950s began appropriately enough with the publication of her 50th book “A Murder is Announced”, one of the most respected of the Miss Marple novels. The decade was most notable for two aspects of her life, beginning with her establishment as a major playwright.
Some weeks after its premier in Nottingham, “The Mousetrap” opened in London’s West End in November 1952 and is now in its 64th year (in 2016).
In December 1954, Agatha became the only female playwright to have three plays running simultaneously in the West End – “The Mousetrap”, “Witness for the Prosecution” and “Spider’s Web” – a distinction she still holds.
During this period, she spent two months each year helping Max with what had become his life’s work, the excavation of Nimrud, near Mosul in Iraq. Agatha often helped with photographing the archaeological artefacts during Max’s excavations. She was once moved to remark that “Max is eating tea in the present, but his mind is roughly about 4000 BC”.
In the 1950s, her writing continued apace with the publication of Poirot novels such as “They Came to Baghdad” (1951), “Mrs. McGinty’s Dead (1952) and “Destination Unknown” (1954) and stories featuring Miss Marple, including “They Do It With Mirrors” (1952) “A Pocket Full o Rye” (1953) and “4.50 from Paddington” (1957).
The 1950s were also Greenway’s halcyon days. Every summer a family gathering, including invited literary and archaeological luminaries, took place at her Devon home, and perhaps it was there that Agatha with her family and many others, was able to heal the scars of the Second World War. In these post-war years she was also much given to reflection: “To be part of something one doesn’t in the least understand is, I think, one of the most intriguing things about life”. It is not certain whether she was referring to archaeology, literature or life in general.
In 1954, Agatha became the first-ever recipient of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master award.
Agatha celebrates her 70th birthday, publishes 17 titles thereafter, Books and short stories adapted to films and television (1960-1975):
In September 1960, Agatha celebrated her 70th birthday. The later stages of her life became more notable for awards, landmarks and reflection than for new achievements.
However, spurred on by a huge army of fans yearning for their “Christie for Christmas” book as it came to be called, she published 17 titles after her 70th birthday. Some of them, including “Endless Night” (1967) and “Hallowe’en Party” (1969) were up to her very highest standard, and it was only the effort of writing that troubled her, rather than coming up with new ideas.
She was quite good at reflection too: “Hercule Poirot has made quite a place for himself in the world and is regarded perhaps with more affection by outsiders than his own creator! (My advice to young detective writers is to) be very careful what central character you create – you may have him with you for a very long time!”
One aspect of her work that took a long time to achieve satisfactory status was the adaptation of her books and short stories for film and television.
Set in ancient Egypt and written in 1937, Agatha’s play “Akhnaton” was published by Collins in 1973.
With the exception of a brilliant reworking of “Witness for the Prosecution” by Billy Wilder in 1957, featuring the talents of Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich, it was not until 1974 that a real blockbuster film was released “Murder on the Orient Express” with Albert Finney playing Poirot and a stellar cast including Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Vanessa Redgrave and Ingrid Bergman, which made Agatha very happy.
Her passing away and lasting legacy (1976-2016):
As the autumn of her life drew to an end, she summed it all up for her readers and fans across the world: “I like living. I have sometimes been wildly despairing, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing”
Agatha Christie died on 12 January 1976, and was buried at Cholsey Church, near Wallingford in Oxfordshire, not far from Winterbrook House, her family home.
An autobiography was published by Collins in November 1977, almost two years after Agatha’s death.
But her legacy did not die with her and in the 21st century her popularity remains undiminished worldwide, aided by the success of television adaptations and in particular the iconic performances of David Suchet as Hercule Poirot and Joan Hickson as Miss Marple. It is a tragedy that Agatha, who was disappointed in earlier visual representations of her two main characters, never had the opportunity to witness their exceptional portrayals.
More recently, during Christmas 2015, a brilliant production of “And Then There Were None” attracted an average of eight million viewers for each of its three episodes, which is a testimony to the continued popularity of her work.
From the Monnaie de Paris these Silver and Gold coins have been issued in the Series "The art of the Pen/Quill:
The Header/Banner presents a portrait of Agatha Christie facing left in the background of Silver and Gold Coins issued on her. Representative images of her novels - "Death on the Nile", "Murder on the Orient express" and "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".
About Agatha Christie (1890-1976):
Born in 1890, Agatha Christie is one of the most widely read women writers in the world and remains an emblematic figure of the detective novel.
Renowned for the finesse of her plots, the richness of her characters and the extreme attention she brought to detail, Agatha Christie captivated millions of readers with her art of twists and turns, her false leads and her cleverly hidden clues.
To this day, Agatha Christie is known as the "Queen of Crime", her works continuing to inspire literature, theatre and film.
In 2026, 50 years after her death, the Monnaie de Paris pays tribute to the incredible legacy of Agatha Christie.
Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of Agatha Christie through a collection of exceptional coins, dedicated to the queen of detective novels. Part of the "The Art of the Pen" series, this edition pays tribute to the writer and her most emblematic works. Each coin celebrates the elegance of its imagination and the timeless heritage of its legendary intrigues.
Beyond the captivating plots of her novels, it is the Queen of Crime's sense of detail that inspired me for the subtle designs of the coins in this collection.
The Coin:
The Art of the Pen – "Death on the Nile":
A 10€ Silver coin - Proof quality vintage 2026:
On the Reverse of this 10€ Silver Coin, a steam-powered river cruise ship – a reference to the very one that inspired Agatha Christie for her novel and where she began writing it – sailing on the Nile.
The Nile thanks to the scenery that surrounds it: palm trees and majestic pyramids in the background.
In the water, the name of the novel "Death on the Nile" undulates in the middle of the eddies caused by the navigation of the boat.
On a of the pyramids, the face of Hercule Poirot is evoked by his emblematic moustache and an Egyptian eye which gives a mysterious air to the scene, as if the detective were watching it to discover the secrets hidden by the ship's passengers.
It includes several emblematic quotes such as "The best is the enemy of the good" by Voltaire, "Lasciate ogne speranza voi ch'intrate" by Dante Alighieri, "To be or not to be, that is the question" by William Shakespeare or "Was mich nicht umbringt macht mich stärker" by Nietzsche.
A nib is engraved in the center of the piece. Below it is the title of the series.
The word "RF" is present at the bottom of the coin as well as the hallmark/initials of Joaquin Jimenez and the engraving workshop.
The specifications of this Coin are:
Name of the Country: Republic of France ("Republique Francaise"), Year of issue: 2026; Coin Series Theme: "L'art de la Plume" (The Art of the Pen - Writing"); Coin Denomination: 10€ (Ten Euro); Diameter/Size: 37.00 mm; Metal Composition: 999‰ SILVER; Weight: 22.2 g; Coin Quality: Proof (P); Mintage: 3000 pieces; Vintage: 2026; Designer: Joaquin Jiminez.
2) The Art of the Pen – "A Corpse in the Library":
10€ Silver coin - Proof quality vintage 2026:
In the foreground, Miss Marple, wearing a hat, casts a mischievous glance at the stage.
In the background, a bookcase full of books frames a door ajar with a a silhouette whose features cannot be distinguished. In the library, the title "A Corpse in The library" is inscribed by books positioned in such a way as to form letters.
The Obverse of this 10€ Silver Coin is common to the entire "The Art of the Pen" series.
Several quotes can be seen on it emblematic figures such as Voltaire's "The Best is the Enemy of the Good", "Lasciate ogne speranza voi ch'intrate" by Dante Alighieri, "To be or not to be, that is the question" by William Shakespeare or also "Was mich nicht umbringt macht mich stärker" by Nietzsche.
A nib is engraved in the center of the play. Below it is the title of the series. The word "RF" is present at the bottom of the coin as well as the hallmark of Joaquin Jimenez and the engraving workshop.
The specifications of this Coin are:
Name of the Country: Republic of France ("Republique Francaise"), Year of issue: 2026; Coin Series Theme: "L'art de la Plume" (The Art of the Pen - Writing"); Coin Denomination: 10€ (Ten Euro); Diameter/Size: 37.00 mm; Metal Composition: 999‰ SILVER; Weight: 22.2 g; Coin Quality: Proof (P); Mintage: 3000 pieces; Vintage: 2026; Designer: Joaquin Jiminez.
The Art of the Pen – Agatha Christie:
50€ 1/4 Oz Gold coin - Proof quality vintage 2026
Her posture, chin on her hand and pensive eyes, evokes a writer in full reflection.
The index and the middle finger of the hand on which his head rests are extended, as if to signify a revolver.
She holds a fountain pen between these two fingers. The queen of crime is thus depicted as a total incarnation of her universe, ready to draw his pen to put on paper a new subtle plot.
Around her, one recognises references to the novels They Were Ten – "A house on an island surrounded by ten silhouettes and a gramophone" -, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" – "an English manor", a" watch and a dagger" -, "The Crime of the Orient Express" – "the Orient Express" – and "Death on the Nile"– "a river cruise ship in front of pyramids" .
The name of the author, his dates and the year are inscribed around it.
The Reverse of this 50€ Gold Proof Coin is common to the entire "The Art of the Pen" series.
Several quotes can be seen on it emblematic figures such as Voltaire's "The Best is the Enemy of the Good", "Lasciate ogne speranza voi ch'intrate" by Dante Alighieri, "To be or not to be, that is the question" by William Shakespeare or "Was mich nicht umbringt macht mich stärker" by Nietzsche.
A nib is engraved in the center of the piece. Below it is the title of the series. The word "RF" is present at the bottom of the coin as well as the hallmark of Joaquin Jimenez and the engraving workshop.
The specifications of this Coin are:
Name of the Country: Republic of France ("Republique Francaise"), Year of issue: 2026; Coin Series Theme: "L'art de la Plume" (The Art of the Pen - Writing"); Coin Denomination: 50€ (Fifty Euro); Diameter/Size: 22.00 mm; Metal Composition: 999‰ FINE GOLD; Weight: 7.78 g; Coin Quality: Proof (P); Mintage: 3000 pieces; Vintage: 2026; Designer: Joaquin Jiminez.
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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:
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