Monnaie de Paris, the French mint on the Quai de Conti since 864

The Monnaie de Paris, the French mint on the Quai de Conti, was founded on 25 June 864 by the Edict of Pîtres of Charles the Bald. It is the oldest French institution still at work and one of the oldest companies in the world.

In 1770, the mint gave itself a seat combining offices and workshops: the Hôtel de la Monnaie, built from 1771 to 1775 by the architect Denis Antoine along 114 metres of riverbank. From 1848 to 1876, Anatole Hulot produced France’s first postage stamps there.

Attached to the Ministry of Finance since 1796, the mint opened a factory at Pessac, near Bordeaux, in 1973, where euro coins are struck. A public company since 2007, it received the Entreprise du patrimoine vivant label in 2012 and made the medals for the Paris Games in 2024. On 30 September 2017, after renovation, 80 per cent of its buildings opened to the public.

In the 6th arrondissement, on the Seine, the Hôtel de la Monnaie still houses working ateliers and a museum of metal arts showing 2,000 pieces from reserves of 170,000. It also holds exhibitions, a shop, a café and Guy Savoy’s restaurant.