Lacoste X La Monnaie de Paris: French Excellence
Going through time striking coins and medals. Becoming a legend by striking a ball. In 2023, the Monnaie de Paris and Lacoste have never been closer. This is a first: members of the Comité Colbert, the thousand-year-old institution and Lacoste are collaborating to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the crocodile. Discover 7 art coins made of gold, silver and Florentine bronze, a collection of French excellence... unlike any other.
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Lacoste codes, a goldsmith's craft at its peak
Stylized, ultra-precise and extremely refined, the Lacoste codes come to life under the expert hands of the Monnaie de Paris craftsmen, keepers of a thousand-year-old know-how.
On the most precious metals, their embossed and debossed engravings reproduce as accurately as possible the scales of a crocodile, the powdery texture of clay, the piqué" of the Original L.12.12 polo shirt or even the dimples of a golf ball. The institution's coin makers, engravers and polishers succeed one another for an exceptional result: a special collector's coin that pays tribute to Lacoste.
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René Lacoste, a golden crocodile
Fair play, tenacity, effort, passion, elegance, team spirit, performance": the values of René Lacoste are golden. Tennis champion nicknamed "the crocodile", inventor and then head of one of the jewels of French industry, the Monnaie de Paris pays him a spectacular tribute and engraves the words that guided him throughout his life on the centrepiece of this collaboration.
A coin made of one kilo of gold that replicates the shape of the Lacoste logo. A crocodile with three engraving effects on one side (the scales, the polo, the golf ball), René Lacoste in the middle of a match on the other. The know-how of the Monnaie de Paris reaches its peak, and finds an ideal playground to express French excellence with this collector's coin delivered in a custom-made case.
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A currency of form, and substance
In the shape of a racket, gold and silver coins have the value of legal currency. Designed and minted by the Monnaie de Paris, they honour two facets of René Lacoste, who was both a tennis champion and, in 1963, inventor of the first steel racket. On the front side, the illusion is perfect: string, ultra-realistic handle, tennis ball and crocodile. On the flip side, the year, the emblematic cotton piqué motif in place of the string, the face value - whose zeros take the form of tennis balls - and the top of the Lacoste polo shirt, upon which the stringing reappears.
The gold and silver coins are round and have just as much substance. While the front side mixes crocodile skin print, petit piqué knit and a golf ball, the flip side is ultra-stylised: between the white lines, René Lacoste is back on court. Above him, the crocodile is watchful...
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Event: the special Roland Garros 2023 Toss currency
Lacoste has been the official partner of the French Open for over 50 years, which is why the Monnaie de Paris, in collaboration with the sporting event, has created an exceptional and essential piece... Ever heard of the referee flipping a coin at the beginning of the match? It's called the "toss", a "coin toss" that determines which player will start the match. For the 2023 edition of the tournament, this coin is a work of art, a silver coin designed by Monnaie de Paris and Lacoste. With 1933 coins available, in relation to the year the Lacoste brand was founded, the coin binds the crocodile to the tournament more than ever before, and on the backdrop of exceptional French craftsmanship.
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The anniversary medal
In celebration of the 90th anniversary of the brand, a Florentine bronze medal that doubles as a paperweight. Identical to the round coins on the front side, and a 90th-anniversary crocodile logo on the flip side ... this beautiful souvenir is a true collectors' item.
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The encounter of two worlds with shared values
Innovation, heritage, know-how, the Monnaie de Paris and Lacoste share much more than a French heritage. Their common values are the reason for their continuity. Metal for one, fashion and accessories for the other, what binds them is a substance that lives, that flows, with an unfailing attachment to the slightest details. Perhaps this is the secret that binds these two institutions. The secret of a collaboration in which French excellence reaches perfection.
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WHERE CAN YOU FIND THEM ?
The 10€ silver coin Toss and a Florentine bronze medal are exceptionally on sale at Lacoste Arena
The entire collection is available on monnaiedeparis.fr and at the Monnaie de Paris store, 2 Rue Guénégaud, Paris 6e.
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