Collectible 0-euro banknotes dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Liberation are being sold out in Haute-Vienne.

Two hours in line, starting at 6:30 am. Never before has the annual collectors’ fair on the island (Haute-Vienne) seen such attendance. This Sunday, February 11, hundreds of people had to be patient to receive the 0 euro banknote sold for 3 euros each.

These banknotes, issued in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of France in an edition of 3,000 copies by the Banque de France publisher Oberthur Fiducier, were originally intended for members of the organizing association Billets-touristiques.com. But this Sunday, the remaining 342 copies were sold on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Seeing the arrival of collectors from Marseille, Biarritz and Strasbourg, some of whom arrived in campers on Friday to camp out in front of the public hall, organizers knew the event would exceed their expectations. “This is unheard of,” admitted Stephane Sibo, the association’s president.

“I usually collect coins, but here I wanted to get this limited edition ticket,” says Jacques Noto, who came with his partner Danielle Gatineau from Poitiers (Vienna). Others, like 24-year-old Jimmy Carbonnani, acknowledge the purely speculative interest in the approach. “I arrived from Brittany the day before and was able to purchase ticket number 002798. I am an investor in cryptocurrencies and the stock market. I hope to resell my copy in twenty years, on the centenary of the Liberation, for between 5,000 and 20,000 euros. »

Some people didn’t have the patience like Jimmy. On Ebay, a ticket with the very symbolic number 001944 has already been sold for 605 euros.