Since 2010, the French Excellence series has combined the exceptional know-how of a brand from the Comité Colbert or a French cultural institution with that of the Paris Mint, resulting in a unique collection that conjugates their respective talents.

⁣⁢To celebrate the anniversary of the opening of the Musée d'Orsay, Joaquin Jimenez, engraver
General of the Paris Mint, drew his inspiration from the building of the Musée d'Orsay
and its collections, masterfully translating details of works and architecture.⁤⁣

OBVERSE

⁣⁢On the front side of this exceptional coin, worth 5,000 euros and measuring 95 mm x 95 mm, several characters, from emblematic works, interact under the glass roof of the nave, as if they were awake and discovering the museum together.
In the foreground, the White Bear by François Pompon and the Portrait of the Artist by Vincent van
Gogh stand side by side; behind them are Édouard Manet's Fife and the
Woman with parasol turned to the left by Claude Monet. Also figure the Little
fourteen-year-old dancer by Edgar Degas, seized inside the building, in front of the large
clock on the fifth floor. With one gesture, all these decorative elements fit into the
reproduction of the frame of the large clock, a flagship object if ever there was one, in the history of the Orsay Museum building.⁤⁣

REVERSE

⁣⁢On the reverse of this one-kilogram gold coin, the main subject relates to the architectural structure of the Musée d'Orsay. It features four of the caissons decorated with rosettes that adorn the nave. They are enclosed within a metal structure decorated with rivets,
reproducing the rhythm of the nave's ceiling, unchanged since the Orsay station was built.⁤⁣