HomeWorld CoinsFrance 2016 UEFA Head 10 Euro Silver Proof Coin

France 2016 UEFA Head 10 Euro Silver Proof Coin

uefaheadkick

Description:

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) 2016 Euro Championship is being held in France, and the Monnaie de Paris has issued a set of three 10-euro silver coins honoring the quadrennial sporting event. The UEFA oversees association football (soccer) throughout the continent Europe. Interestingly, while most of the 55 association members are located on the continent, several originate from Asia. The UEFA was founded on June 15, 1954 in Basel, Switzerland and originally had 25 members; by the 1990s, the number of members doubled.

One of the several roles the UEFA assumes is to review competitions among its members and uphold the quality and presence of national football throughout Eurasia. Meanwhile, the UEFA aims to enhance sporting opportunities for the teams, coaches, players, and fans. The UEFA Nations League has four individual leagues, and each league has four groups consisting of three or four teams. Some UEFA events are competitive in nature, and some are friendly exhibitions. Each of the leagues is ordered by the strength and ranking of its teams, which compete with each other and advance through playoff matches.

The UEFA Champions League consists of the organization’s top clubs and is one of the most prestigious competitions in the world. The 2016 UEFA European Championship, also called the UEFA Euro 2016 or Euro 2016, will be the 15th such event and will be held in France from June 10 through July 10, 2016.

The event is commemorated by Monnaie de Paris’ new three-piece 10-Euro silver coin set. Alongside “Head” are “Reprise” and “Keeper“.

Obverse:

The obverse depicts a football player executing a head kick to a soccer ball, which is represented as a three-dimensional gilded silver orb protruding through the obverse and reverse of the coin. The innovative 3D soccer ball element is seen on each of the three French UEFA commemorative coins. The UEFA logo is incorporated into the design on the lower center right of the player, who is seen standing above the perspective of the viewer.

The anchoring design feature is contained within a hexagon shape reminiscent of the hexagonal sewing pattern seen on soccer balls–not to mention “l’Hexagone”, the famous geometrically-inspired nickname for mainland France. The coin’s round left rim implies two straight lines on the left side of the six-sided shape, while the geometric pattern’s other four lines are clearly delineated on the obverse. An eclectic pattern on the background of the obverse is expressed in multiple hexagons and other shapes that symbolize the jubilance of the championship games.

Reverse:

france2016uefo10The central design element on the reverse of the coin is a soccer field whose two opposing goal lines are demarcated by two elementally basic representations of the Arc de Triomphe, a famous landmark that was built in Paris in 1836. The Arc de Triomphe pays homage to those who died in France during the French Revolutionary (1792-1802) and Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815).

The abstract design includes four human figures cheering with their hands in the air within a larger hexagonal design element similar to the one that anchors the obverse. On the center left of the reverse are the initials RF, representing the coin’s country of origin, Republique Francaise, or France. On the bottom left of the coin, near the seven o’ clock position, is the date of the coin, 2016, which is surrounded by the mintmark and mint master’s mark.

The denomination of the coin, 10 EURO, is expressed in two horizontal lines near the bottom center of the coin, with the other side of the three-dimensional gilded soccer ball representing the “0” in the denomination “10.” This reverse design is shared among the three UEFA commemorative coins.

Coin Specifications:

Country:  France
Year Of Issue:  2016
Denomination:  10 Euro
Mint Mark:
Mintage:  10,000
Alloy:  .900 Silver; .100 Alloy
Weight:  22.7 g
Diameter:  37 mm
Edge:  Plain/Smooth
OBV Designer
REV Designer
Quality:  Proof

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CoinWeek IQ
CoinWeek IQ
With CoinWeek IQ, the editors and writers of CoinWeek dig deeper than the usual numismatic article. CoinWeek IQ provides collectors and numismatists with in-depth information, pedigree histories, and market analysis of U.S. coins and currency.

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