French Furry Friends

The Monnaie de Paris has released a collection of coins honoring France’s  favorite domesticated animals—dogs, cats, rabbits, and horses. Made to commemorate the Société Protectrice des Animaux’s (SPA) 180th anniversary, each cupro-nickel 5-euro piece features a trio of its respective animal on the obverse (two adults and one juvenile). Symbols relating to all four animals, including a dog’s paw print, a cat’s paw print, a carrot, and a horseshoe, appear along the rim. Rounding out the collection is a pure gold 250-euro coin featuring each animal and their associated symbols, with “la SPA” in the center.

Founded on December 2, 1845, the SPA is France’s oldest animal protection association. With 63 shelters and 7 SPA homes throughout France, the organization takes in lost, abandoned, or mistreated animals and provides them with vaccines, sterilization, and training before putting them up for adoption. The SPA also runs 12 free vet clinics for low-income pet owners.

Available individually or as a 4-piece set, the collection is available on the Monnaie de Paris’s website. The 4-coin box is limited to 3,000 sets, the gold commemorative has a mintage of 5,000, and each individual bimetallic coin has a mintage of 25,000.