2018 France €2 Coin Issue "End of WWI 100 Years: Armistice & Cornflower"

• Mint: Monnaie de Paris
• Denomination: €2
• Quality: UNC/BU/Proof
• Issue limit: 9.98M/10K/10K
• Alloy: Base Metal
• Diameter: 25.75 mm
• Weight: 8.5 grams
• Box/Capsule: No/No
• BU is colorized and delivered in printed card
• Proof is colorized and delivered in box with certificate

Additional Information

Please click here for the official web page in English!

Remembrance Day - November 11 - is a National Day in France. An official ceremony commemorates the anniversary of the end of hostilities, which took place "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" in 1918. The Great War, however, officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919.

All municipalities, regardless of their size, have a commemorative ceremony. A wreath of blue-white-red flowers is placed on each War Memorial, which is located either on the town's square or by the church. The President of the Republic chaired the Parisian celebration and lays a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe at 11am. Two consecutive minutes of silence are observed at 11am local time. The first minute is dedicated to the nearly 20 millions people who lost their life during WWI. The second pays tribute to the living left behind, the mourning mothers, wives, brides to be and sisters.

France has adopted the cornflower - Bleuet de France - to commemorate Armistice Day. Cornflowers (similar to the poppies adopted by the British) were indeed the only flowers that still grew on the various battlefields despite the shelling that transformed the land into lunar landscapes. These two flowers therefore became a symbol of the resilience of life, life that went on in the mud of the trenches. Bleuet (blue cornflower) was also the nickname WWI veterans (Poilus) gave to the young recruits of Class 15 - those born in 1895. The new recruits who fought on the Chemin des Dames, wore brand new uniforms that were "bleu horizon" or sky blue.