Historical Sketch

In the late 13th century, the Genoese Grimaldi family gained sovereignty over Monaco. In 1612, the Grimaldi rulers unilaterally styled themselves as prince, which was recognized by France in 1642 when Monaco became a French vassal. Revolutionary France annexed Monaco as Fort-Hercule, but the 1815 Congress of Vienna restored as a principality under a Sardinian protectorate. The 1860 Treaty of Turin between France and Sardinia resulted in the in the transfer of the County of Nice to France, which completely surrounds Monaco. As a consequence, Sardinia withdrew from Monaco and terminated the protectorate. In the following year, France recognized Monaco's sovereignty.

Monetary History Overview

In the 18th century, Monaco issued a small amount of coins in the Sardinian standard, otherwise the currencies of the neighboring countries were in use. In 1837, Monaco tried to gain monetary independence by creating a Monesgasque Franc in the French standard. A local mint was established but, in the end, only subsidiary coins were produced in considerable amounts. The silver coinage was modest, and no gold coins could be issued at all. The mint ceased operation already in the following year. In 1865, Monaco and France concluded a customs union by which the French currency became sole legal tender. Monegasque Franc never materialized for real. In February 1861, France finally recognised Monaco's sovereignty and concluded customs treaty. The 1st French Franc was adopted instead of a Monegasque national currency. During the French currency crisis of the early 1920s, Monaco issued emergency coins to replace the silver subsidiary coins that had disappeared from the market. The state-owned Mortgage Bank of Monaco acted as the issuer. Monaco resumed the issuance of subsidiary coins when France was under German occupation during the Second World War. The practice continued after the war, and also after the French currency reform of 1958 when the 2nd French (New) Franc got introduced. The Monegasque divisional coins circulated alongside the French banknotes and coins but were mainly sold to collectors and tourists.

In 1999, France introduced the European Euro, and after 2002, the Franc ceased to circulate. Monaco is not a member of the European Monetary Union and cannot issue Euro coins in its own right. For this reason, France and the EU agreed in 2001 that France cedes a percentage of its mintage quota to Monaco. The Monegasque coins are legal tender in the entire Euro area, but still are mainly sold to collectors and tourists.

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