Overview:
Simone Veil was born to a non-practicing Jewish family on July 13, 1927, in the city of Nice on the Mediterranean coast. During the Nazi occupation of France in World War II, she and her family were arrested by German authorities. Simone, her mother and one sister were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. They were later transferred to Bergen-Belsen.
Simone and her two sisters were the only survivors in their family.
After graduating university with a law degree, Veil passed the exam to become a magistrate and spent several years practicing law. From 1974 to 1979, she was Minister of Health in the governments of prime ministers Jacques Chirac and Raymond Barre.
She is responsible for legalizing abortion in France (passed 1974; effective 1975). This was her hardest political fight and the one for which she is perhaps best known.
In 1979, Veil was elected as a member of the European Parliament. The new Parliament elected Veil as the first female president in its history, a role in which she served until 1982. From March 31, 1993 – May 16, 1995, Veil was again a member of the French cabinet, serving as Minister of Health, in the government of Prime Minister Édouard Balladur. She was a Member of the Constitutional Council of France from March 1998 through March 2007.
Beside her political life, Simone Veil served as the first president of the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah, from 2000 to 2007, and subsequently as an honorary president. She was elected to the Académie française in November 2008.
Veil died at home on June 30, 2017 at the age of 89 years old. She will be interred in the Pantheon with her husband, Antoine Veil, on July 1, 2018.
Description:
Obverse:
The obverse of this €2 coin displays a portrait of Simone Veil facing right but looking left; her deportation registration number appears on her collar. The background depicts the European Parliament on which her key dates, name and RF are inscribed. The yeardate is on the right-hand side, along with a cornucopia, the Monnaie de Paris mintmark. Next to the Horn of Plenty is the mark of Monnaie de Paris mint master Yves Sampo–a pentagon containing the letters AG, MP and YS. Above and between the pentagon and the cornucopia is the square-within-a-square artist’s mark of coin designer Joaquin Jimenez.
Reverse:
The reverse of the coin is that of a standard €2 coin, featuring the familiar design by Luc Luycx shared on the reverse of most Euro coins found throughout all countries of the eurozone. The face value “€2” appears in front of a map of Europe. The design incorporates a geographical outline of the continent of Europe superimposed by the word EURO and six vertical bars.
Each end of the six bars is capped by a single star, which collectively represents the 12 stars of the European Union. On the left side of the reverse is a large numeral 2 to indicate the coin’s 2 Euro denomination. Luycx’s initials, LL, are seen under the “O” of EURO.
Edge:
The edge of the 2018 Simone Veil 2 Euro bimetallic comemmorative coin is reeded. It bears the inscription “2 * * 2 * * 2 * * 2 * * 2 * * 2 * *”.
Designer(s):
Designer Joaquin Jimenez has designed coins and medals for the Monnaie de Paris since 1986. His Starry Tree design serves as the national side of the French 1 and 2-euro circulating coins (View Designer’s Profile).
Luc Luycx is a computer engineer and medalist from Belgium (View Designer’s Profile).
Coin Specifications:
| Country: | France |
| Year of Issue: | 2018 |
| Denomination: | 2 Euro |
| Mint Mark: | cornucopia (Monnaie de Paris) |
| Mintage: | 15,000,000 (Circ.); 10,000 (Unc.); 10,000 (Proof) |
| Metal/Alloy: | Nickel Inner Core and Copper-Nickel Outer Ring |
| Weight: | 8.5 g |
| Diameter: | 25.75 mm |
| Thickness: | 2.2 mm |
| Edge: | Reeded, Inscribed |
| OBV Designer | Joaquin Jimenez |
| REV Designer | Luc Luycx |
| Quality: | Proof, Uncirculated, Business Strike |
