France · Medical Research

Issue date6 Oct 2020

Total mintage310,000

EU maximum300,000

Editions4

Edge lettering2 ★ ★ × 6, alternating upright/inverted

InscriptionRF / 2020

DesignerJoaquin Jimenez

mintMonnaie de Paris, Pessac

Issue occasion

The commemorative coin is dedicated to medical research. The design depicts a face in a sphere as a symbol of people in the Union, looking at DNA fragments enclosed by a circle. The oblique axis of the image symbolises how research and intelligence examine the infinitely small and triumph over diseases.

The design

The design depicts a face within a sphere as a symbol of human beings in the Union. It looks upon the infinitely small, represented by DNA fragments enclosed by a circle. The diagonal axis of the design expresses, through this allegory, that research and intelligence dominate the infinitely small, examine it and triumph over diseases. The issuing state is indicated by “RF” in the upper right, while the mintmark and the year of issue “2020” appear in the lower left.

The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the coin’s outer ring.

Background on the topic

The issue is directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was identified at the end of 2019; on 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (Weltgesundheitsorganisation) classified its worldwide spread as a pandemic. In France, the rapidly increasing number of cases led to far-reaching restrictions on public life from March onward. At the same time, public research institutions, universities, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies were working on tests, treatment options and vaccines.

Medical research encompasses several levels. Basic research examines the structure and reproduction of pathogens as well as the response of the human immune system. Clinical trials assess whether medicines and vaccines are effective and acceptable. Epidemiology and data analysis focus on transmission routes, risk factors and the course of a disease in the population. Particularly in the case of a newly emerging infectious disease, these fields overlap.

The coin’s genetic imagery generally refers to molecular biology. SARS-CoV-2, however, does not possess genetic material made of DNA, but of RNA. The DNA structures depicted should therefore not be understood as a true-to-life representation of the virus, but as a general symbol of biomedical research. Genetic methods are used, among other things, in the development of diagnostic tests, the monitoring of virus variants and the investigation of hereditary disease risks.

With institutions such as Institut Pasteur and the state research institute Inserm, France has a long institutional tradition in this field. During the pandemic, research was also strongly organised internationally: genomic data, study results and epidemiological findings were exchanged across national borders.

The choice of the theme in 2020 was a response to this exceptional public health situation. Unlike many commemorative coins, the issue does not commemorate an anniversary or an individual person. Rather, it honours the joint work of medical research in the fight against diseases, with the pandemic providing the specific occasion.