The Monnaie de Paris have unveiled a new series of coins which features one of Walt Disney Studios’ most engaging cartoon characters: Scrooge McDuck. The irrepressible duck with his affectation of a broad Scottish brogue has been part of the world of Disney now for 70 years.

Initially inspired by the Charles Dickens classic novel A Christmas Carol and its primary antagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge, Carl Barks came up with the quintessentially stodgy but lovable Scrooge McDuck in 1947. At the time, Banks was an author of comic-book stories for Western Publishing, an American comic-edition company, and was also working for Walt Disney Studios. Scrooge McDuck, a white Pekin-type fellow, was developed to play a secondary role, but quickly became an endearing character from his hometown of “Duckburg.” Scrooge McDuck—sometimes referred to as “Uncle Scrooge” by his nephew Donald and grand-nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie—is known for having a huge fortune, most of which he keeps in a massive money bin. Scrooge, despite his namesake, is portrayed as a charitable and sometimes thrifty hero, adventurer, explorer, and philanthropist.

The 2017-dated set of coins consists of three gold pieces and two silver pieces with colour illustrations on both designs.

 

€10, silver—The obverse of this colorised silver coin presents a full-length portrait of Donald Duck set against a polished metal background whose shape suggests an outline of Scrooge McDuck’s head, complete with top hat. The field surrounding the character is inspired by Disney’s universe, and depicts a pattern of circles and Scrooge’s Number One Dime. (See the description of the mini-medal, below the specification chart, for more about Scrooge McDuck’s famous coin.) Above Donald, on the crown of Scrooge’s shiny hat, the words LA BANDE à PICSOU describe the animated TV series which is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its first broadcast. (It is also Scrooge McDuck’s 70th anniversary as a Disney character.) The Disney trademark is below Donald on the polished part of the field, and the inscription RF is at right on the patterned background.

The reverse of the coin features a silhouette of Scrooge McDuck’s head, with the top hat and all but his facial features highly polished. The background picks up the same Disney-inspired pattern that appears on the obverse. The face value of 10 EURO is inscribed on the crown of Scrooge McDuck’s hat in a Disney-style cartoon typeface, with a large 10 and the word EURO placed vertically in small letters next to it. The year 2017 is placed in the lower part of the primary design.

€50, silver—The obverse of this colorised silver coin presents full-length portraits of Scrooge McDuck and the other characters from DuckTales. Scrooge is at center in the back row, with his nephew, Donald Duck, to the left and Daisy Duck to the right. In the front row are Donald’s nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Two of the three nephews are presenting Scrooge’s famous Number One Dime, which is comparatively large and in silver. The characters are enhanced with vivid colorisation and set off against a polished silver background whose shape suggests an outline of Scrooge McDuck’s head. The field surrounding the characters depicts a combination of patterns extracted from Disney’s universe. Below the grouping on the shiny field are the words LA BANDE à PICSOU, in two lines. The Disney trademark is at lower left on the polished area, and the RF inscription is at right on the patterned background.

The reverse of the coin is similar to that of the silver €10 and features a silhouette of Scrooge McDuck’s head, with the top hat and all but his facial features highly polished.The background picks up the same Disney-inspired pattern that appears on the obverse. The face value of 50 EURO is inscribed on the crown of Scrooge McDuck’s hat in a Disney-style cartoon typeface, with a large 50 and the word EURO placed vertically in small letters next to it. The year 2017 is placed in the lower part of the primary design.

€50, gold—This is the only coin in the five-coin series that does not share a design with another denomination. On the obverse, we can see Scrooge McDuck wearing his famous red jacket (although it is not colorised here) and carrying a cane and satchel. Scrooge’s figure is set against a polished silhouette whose shape suggests Scrooge McDuck’s head. The outline is repeated several times on the unpolished field, extending to the edge. The words LA BANDE à PICSOU, in two lines, appear above Scrooge on the crown of the hat in the background. The Disney trademark is below the main design and the inscription RF is to the right.

The reverse of the coin features a silhouette of Scrooge McDuck’s head, with the top hat and all but his facial features highly polished. The background, as on the obverse, repeats the outlines of Scrooge’s head, extending to the edge of the coin. The face value of 50 EURO is inscribed on the crown of Scrooge McDuck’s hat in a Disney-style cartoon typeface, with a large 50 and the word EURO placed vertically in small letters next to it. The year 2017 is placed in the lower part of the primary design.

€200, gold—Similar to the €10 silver coin, the obverse of the gold €200 presents a full-length portrait of Donald Duck set against a polished metal background whose shape suggests an outline of Scrooge McDuck’s head, complete with top hat. The field surrounding the character is inspired by Disney’s universe, and depicts a pattern of circles and Scrooge’s Number One Dime. Above Donald, on the crown of Scrooge’s shiny hat, are the words LA BANDE à PICSOU. The Disney trademark is below Donald on the polished part of the field, and the inscription RF is at right on the patterned background.

The reverse of the coin features a silhouette of Scrooge McDuck’s head, with the top hat and all but his facial features highly polished. The background picks up the same Disney-inspired pattern that appears on the obverse. The face value of 200 EURO is inscribed on the crown of Scrooge McDuck’s hat in a Disney-style cartoon typeface, with a large 200 and the word EURO placed vertically in small letters next to it. The year 2017 is placed in the lower part of the primary design.

€500, gold—Like the obverse of the €50 silver coin, the obverse of the gold €500 presents full-length portraits of Scrooge McDuck and the other characters from DuckTales, with Scrooge at center in the back row; his nephew, Donald Duck, to the left; and Daisy Duck to the right. In the front row Donald’s nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, with the first two presenting Scrooge’s famous Number One Dime. The characters are set against a polished metal background whose shape suggests an outline of Scrooge McDuck’s head. The field surrounding the characters depicts a combination of patterns extracted from Disney’s universe. Below the grouping on the shiny field are the words LA BANDE à PICSOU, in two lines. The Disney trademark is at lower left on the polished part of the field, and the RF inscription is at right on the patterned background.

The reverse of the coin is similar to that of the silver €50 and features a silhouette of Scrooge McDuck’s head, with the top hat and all but his facial features highly polished.The background picks up the same Disney-inspired pattern that appears on the obverse. The face value of 500 EURO is inscribed on the crown of Scrooge McDuck’s hat in a Disney-style cartoon typeface, with a large 500 and the word EURO placed vertically in small letters next to it. The year 2017 is placed in the lower part of the primary design.

 

Denom.	Metal	Weight	Diameter	Quality	Mintage Limit
€10	.900 silver	22.2 g	37 mm	Proof with applied colour	3,000
€50	.950 silver	163.8 g	50 mm	Proof with applied colour	500
€50	.999 gold	7.78 g	22 mm	Proof	1,000
€200	.999 gold	31.104 g	37 mm	Proof	5,000
€500	.900 gold	155.5 g	50 mm	Proof	2,500

The new range of Scrooge McDuck coins follows the successful series of Mickey Mouse collector coins introduced by the Monnaie de Paris last October, and will be available from the 20th June as separate or individual purchases. A birth-year coin set which is issued with the Scrooge McDuck artwork will include the eight euro coins struck in Brilliant Uncirculated quality and carry the 2017 year of striking. The €0.50 and €1 coins are struck exclusively for the 2017 Proof and BU series, as the French treasury will not mint these two coins for circulation in 2017.

A special medal is available which features the character Donald diving into a pool. On the base is the inscription DONALD DUCK, which appears in the original Disney-style font. On the black background, the medal is decorated by a swimming pool and a diving board. Donald is dressed in a striped swimsuit that recalls his traditional sailor’s outfit. The stripes are coloured by a deposit of blue-and-white resin made by hand. At the bottom of the centre is the Disney copyright which attests to the collaboration between the Monnaie de Paris and the famous animation house. The mintage is limited to 500 copies and each medal is numbered on the edge.

Also available is a mini-medal which is a reproduction of Scrooge McDuck’s famous Number One Dime. Technically, this coin is based on the American dime or 10 cents and is the first coin earned by the character in his youth, when he started working as a shoeshine boy and after he had shined the shoes of Burt the ditch digger. The coin, which he has always kept hold of, encouraged Scrooge to work hard to get what he wants. It will always remain for him a symbol of success deserved for hard work.

The obverse of the mini-medal depicts Scrooge’s portrait. At the portrait’s top is written the French name “Balthazar Picsou,” and on the bottom is written “Sou fetiche” (the French equivalent for the Number One Dime). The motif is surrounded by pearl beading around the edges.

On the reverse side of the mini-medal is the text “1 sou” (the French equivalent of one dime). A laurel wreath, often a design used on coinage from antiquity, is enclosed by a semicircle. The entire design is surrounded by pearl beading around the edge. At the bottom of the centre is the Disney copyright which certifies the collaboration between the Monnaie de Paris and the famous animation house.

Please visit the e-shop of the Monnaie de Paris for more information on these and other coins on offer.

The Animated TV Series

DuckTales made its television debut in the United States in September 1987. The Disney animated cartoon presented the characters of the Disney ducks’ universe and quickly became a favourite with viewers of all ages, from toddlers to their parents and even grandparents. The characters featured in the series are emblematic of the cartoon and highlight the antics of the accident-prone and mischievous nephews of Donald Duck—Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck. These three rascals are also the grand-nephews of Scrooge McDuck, who often finds himself in the middle of their troublesome capers. They typically wear shirts and colourful baseball caps, which are sometimes used to differentiate each character.

Also featured regularly is Donald Duck—or, to use his full and formal name, Donald Fauntleroy Duck—who is the nephew of Scrooge McDuck. Donald first appeared in 1934 in the cartoon The Wise Little Hen and was already resplendent in his now-familiar sailor’s costume. Donald is famous for his “unique” manner of speech and pronunciation, which takes full advantage of a duck-accented affectation. He is one of Disney’s most popular characters, especially in Europe. Daisy Duck is Donald Duck’s girlfriend and first appeared in the cartoon Don Donald in 1937 under the name of Donna Duck.   ❑