2020 €2 commemorative coin from MONACO – Prince HONORE III
- October 19, 2020
- by
- Pierre
Last update – october the 19th 2020
The Principality of Monaco has just announced the issue of a €2 commemorative coin dedicated to the Sovereign Prince Honoré III, born Honoré Camille Léonor Grimaldi de Goyon de Matignon on 10 November 10th 1720, in Paris and died on 21 March 1795 in the same city.
2 euros Monaco 2020 – Honoré III, Sovereign Prince of Monaco
The €2 coin commemorates the 300th anniversary of the birth of Prince Honoré III.
The obverse design depicts a portrait of the Prince. On the left is engraved the inscription ‘Honoré III’ and on the right the name of the issuing country ‘MONACO’. Below is engraved “1720 – Birth – 2020” in a semi-circle.
Mintage: 15 000 coins
Issuing Price: €120
Issuing day: october 20th 2020
Honoré acceded to the throne on November 7th 1733, following the abdication of his father. He was officially proclaimed Sovereign Prince of the Principality of Monaco on 10 November 1733 at his coronation. The new prince resides in his luxurious Parisian hotel or sometimes even in Versailles Palace.
As a cousin of King Louis XV, he is related to the French royal family. In 1739 he was colonel of the Monaco regiment and took part with his regiment in the War of Austrian Succession.
He was wounded at the battle of Rocoux in 1746, then at the battle of Lawfeld the following year. In 1756, he promulgated a decree stipulating that the Monegasque throne would revert to the King of France if the Grimaldi dynasty would disappear.
He married Marie-Catherine Brignole (1737-1813) on July 5, 1757. He had two sons, Honoré de Monaco (1758-1819), who became Honoré IV in 1814 and Joseph de Monaco (1767-1816). French to the end of his fingernails, very present at the Court of France, he therefore governed the Monegasque principality like a Bourbon sovereign. In 1762, Honoré III set up a navy for the principality, however this navy was under the control of the French navy. This Monegasque navy, requested by King Louis XV to Honoré III, was to prevent British ships from trading with French harbours.
In 1789, the French Revolution broke out. Honoré III refused to leave Paris and stayed with King Louis XVI. In 1791, he swore an oath to the French constitution. In 1792, the French monarchy is abolished and the king is imprisoned. As for Honoré III, he refused to leave France for Monaco and also refused exile abroad, taking refuge in Blois. Not having emigrated, he is not dispossessed of his property in France. In July 1793, he was imprisoned in the Conciergerie jail in Paris while the Principality of Monaco was abolished by the revolutionaries and its territory annexed to France. With 59 years, the 59 years long reign of Honoré III remains the longest in the history of Monaco.
In January 1794, the former prince Honoré Grimaldi was sentenced to life imprisonment for high treason. He died a year later, of a heart attack. In 1814, his eldest son will be restored as sovereign prince of Monaco, under the name of Honoré IV.
ON SALE FROM OCTOBER THE 20th (AT 10AM) ON E-SHOP
OF MONACO STAMPS AND COINS MUSEUM
Coin is sold out at the mint
2020 €2 proof coin, sold out in a single day at the Mint
Sources : Monaco – Numismag©
