Why the 0 euro note will go on sale in February

Note to numismatists and collectors who love history. The new €0 banknote will go on sale on February 11 during the 21st Collector’s Salon, which will take place on an island near Limoges (Haute-Vienne). This souvenir ticket will go on sale from 9am, and the rule is simple: “First come, first served,” says the Billets-Euro-Souvenir website, which is coordinating the operation.

Produced in just 3,000 copies numbered 000001 to 003000, these tickets will cost €3 each and each visitor will be able to purchase a maximum of two copies. In fact, only 400 tickets will be on sale during the concert; the rest of the collection will be sold later. But then why buy a 0 euro note that does not have any market value?

Special ticket for the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

This post is not accidental. Indeed, this is a special commemorative edition dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, which took place on June 6, 1944. Several images are superimposed to trace the history of this event. In the “To All the French” poster we see the appeal of June 18, the support of the allies of the Resistance in the form of the Westland Lysander aircraft, sabotage organized by the Resistance, the landing in Normandy or again the celebration of the Liberation on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Behind these special €0 banknotes is a company called Euro Banknote Memory, whose business is to offer these collector’s editions. Tickets are produced in the same way as their point-of-sale equivalents, but have security points to prevent counterfeiting. However, they show no signs of real banknotes: there is no mention of “euro” in Greek and Bulgarian, the European flag is a stylization with the 12 stars replaced by text, and there is apparently no mention of the European Central Bank (ECB) or the signature of its president.

Since 2015, the company has launched hundreds of variations on the market in honor of monuments or events. In France, for example, there are 0 euro banknotes with images of the Pantheon, Napoleon I, Vincent Van Gogh, the Vélodrome stadium or even the Eiffel Tower.

Real 2 euro coins are often issued into circulation.

If these commemorative €0 banknotes are not found in traditional trade, there are many coins officially issued for special occasions. For the European currency, this involves issuing commemorative coins with a face value of 2 euros. Each eurozone country is entitled to two special editions per year, which are often aimed at paying tribute to a deceased person or marking an event.

Since 2002, France has issued €2 coins featuring Jacques Chirac or Simone Weil, as well as for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the 70th anniversary of the June 18 conscription, or even the 25th anniversary of the Pink Ribbon for the Breast Fight. cancer. Greece, for example, paid tribute to Maria Callas and the Athens Games in 2004, when Germany issued coins honoring each land, and Italy commemorated the Turin Winter Games in 2006. By 2024, France has already announced the release of a coin in honor of each of the lands. Paris Games.