2014 €2 D DAY commemorative coin: a proof coin that is worth over €100
- June 05, 2021
- by
- Pierre
Last update 01/08/2021 (coin values) – In 2014, France celebrated the Normandy landing, a military operation better known under the code name “NEPTUNE”, the first step in a plan to reconquer Western Europe, known as “Overlord”. The expression “D DAY” is often used in the current language to designate the landing in Normandy
The NEPTUNE operation started during the night of June 5-6, 1944, with aerial bombings and the release of american paratroopers (about 13,000 men). The aim of these troops was to settle on the places where they were dropped, carefully chosen to cut the roads to the German armoured reinforcement divisions that could be called in to push the british-american troops back into the sea.
Brought by 5,000 boats, 50,000 Americans and 70,000 british-canadians set foot on the Normandy coast. Not without difficulties, since the Americans alone lost 3,000 men during this first day, on the OMAHA beach. In total, the Allies lost 10,000 men in 24 hours.
The German troops put up a fierce resistance but finally gave up their positions under Allied pressure, air and naval bombardments and the too slow and too hindered reaction of the German mechanized reinforcements. A few months earlier, Marshal ROMMEL had declared to his staff that “the battle would either be won immediately on the beaches, or irretrievably lost”. An omen for the fate of the German army…
French participation in these operations, often described as symbolic, was nonetheless real. The french partisans were first of all mobilized to cause trouble in the rear of the German troops. Then, many Frenchmen were engaged in the air forces that supported the landing. Several French fighter squadrons participated in this operation. Some FFF (Free French Forces) ships were also engaged to support the landing operations. Finally, in addition to the very famous KIEFFER commando and its assault on the port of Ouistreham, parachutists members of the French SAS had also been parachuted from the first hours of the operation, mainly to carry out sabotage operations.
In 2014, the Monnaie de Paris issued a €2 coin to commemorate this event.
On the obverse of the coin are engraved the words “D-DAY”. A landing barge and the barrel of a tank are also featured. The commemorative dates 1944-2014 are inscribed above the tank gun, as well as the mention “70th anniversary of D-Day”.
The very particular prints of the boots worn by the soldiers of the American, British and Canadian armies disappear little by little, erased by a wave.
Verlaine’s phrase used as a code to announce the beginning of the landing is engraved on the wave: “the long sobs of autumn’s violins wound my heart with a monotonous languor”.
The coin was issued on June 6th, 2014.
The coin is available in three minting qualities:
- 3,000,000 UNC coins (rolls)
- 10 000 BU coins in coincards
- 10 000 proof coins in boxes
2014 €2 BU coincard – D DAY
A highly sought-after €2 proof coin
While the UNC coin is priced €6, the BU coin can be sold about €80. The proof coin is worth between €320 and €350.
2014 proof €2 coin – D DAY
Various factors can explain this surge in the price of the coin, in proof quality.
The coin deals with a historical and popular subject strongly embedded in the collective consciousness of the Allied countries, beyond the simple collectors. It is therefore of interest to a wider public than numismatists.
Its 10,000 mintage is a reasonable one in ordinary times. Faced with increased demand, dealer stocks were more quickly exhausted in 2014. The coin went straight into the hands of buyers, collectors or not.
The fact that, on a German dealer-only online sales platform, no €2€ proof is for sale as of the date this article is posted is a clear sign of this. The dealers have no stocks. The coins are thus well with the collectors or the simple private individuals who bought them.
Two essential factors for the formation of a solid collector’s price are therefore combined for this coin to appreciate it over time.
The last auction on an online sales platform reached a price of €365, excluding shipping costs.
Sources: NUMISMAG.
