El Dorado - 22,2g - Silver Collector Coin

The Sower coin series is emblematic of the Monnaie de Paris coin series. It focuses on historical and numismatic events and, since 2014, commemorates the history of the currency itself. After two years of commemorating the anniversary of the introduction of the Euro in France, the Sower series has relaunched and taken a leap in time.

In the 16th century, fascinated by tales of a gold-covered king who sacrificed treasures to a sacred lake, Spanish conquistadors went on a frantic search for the footsteps of El Dorado, the Golden Man. Francisco Pizarro's expedition in 1532 led to the capture of Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, and the hope of a fabulous treasure. But the city of El Dorado remained elusive, forever feeding the myth of elusive riches hidden deep in the jungle.

The obverse of this coin features an original composition by engraver Joaquín Jiménez. Two portraits facing each other represent the Spanish conqueror and Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor. In the centre is a gilded Inca idol "EL DORADO" over a mythical lake, where the gold-dust-covered Inca ruler is said to have sacrificed significant wealth to the lake to appease the deity in the water.

On the reverse is a modernized adaptation of a sowing machine by the engraver Louis-Oscar Roty, revealing a heraldic version of the French flag on the veil of its shroud. The letters "RF" for "French Republic" are also surrounded by intertwined hexagons commemorating France.