2011 France €10 Silver Proof Coin "Cosette"

• Mint: Monnaie de Paris
• Denomination: €10
• Quality: Proof
• Issue limit: 10,000 pcs.
• Alloy: 90% Silver
• Diameter: 37 mm=1.46 in
• Weight: 22.2 g=0.78 oz
• Box/Capsule: Yes/Yes
• Certificate: Yes

Additional Information

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This is the first release in a new series of coins focusing on famous characters from French fictional works of literature.

Written in 1862, Les Misérables ("The Miserable Ones") is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the novel, the young Cosette is placed under guardianship, where she is beaten, starved, and made to work hard, yet she is always hopeful. Developing throughout her life, Cosette is taken from a life of pain to a life of love, and she is later described as beautiful, passionate, and afraid of little.

The reverse features a famous scene in Les Miserables where young Cosette is forced to fetch a bucket of water from the well in the woods. The obverse features a portrait of Victor Hugo, his signature, and a quote from Les Miserables "Cosette leva les yeux, elle avait vu venir l’homme à elle avec cette poupée comme elle eût vu venir le soleil" (Cosette raised her eyes; she saw the man approach her with that doll as she would have seen the sun approach).