France had to melt 27 million coins

The 10, 20 and 50 cent coins were produced in November with a new design, however, the EU’s legislative arm said the way the stars of the EU flag are displayed on them does not meet the strict requirements of the European Commission.

According to Business, the 27 million rejected coins represent less than 2% of the 1.4 billion coins produced in 2023, according to the Mint’s report.

The plan was reportedly rejected just six days before the presentation scheduled for December 7th, leaving the facility with $1.6 million in costs to melt and restore the coins.

According to EU regulations, member states can change the design of the national faces of euro coins every 15 years. However, the EU’s green light is also necessary for other eurozone governments, who have seven days to raise their objections.

The Paris mint had begun production of new coins to ensure the distribution of the new standard coins at the beginning of 2024, as originally announced.

Meanwhile, the head of the mint, Marc Schwartz, said the French government was responsible for the incident.

In explaining this, the French Ministry of Economy stated that the design of the new coins proposed by the French government and approved by the commission is still a series and will be unveiled before spring.