D-DAY 80th anniversary - Pegasus Bridge - Proof yeardate - 10€ silver France 2024
 
To mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, Monnaie de Paris is minting a collection paying tribute to the soldiers of the four major Allied nations. Through four singular destinies, French commandos, British airborne troops and American and Canadian infantrymen are honored in this historic collection. 
 
Richard, a British Glider with the Airlanding Brigade, was part of the 6th Airborne (British and Canadian).He landed on the night of June 6, 1944, in a glider to the east of Sword Beach. Here he poses in front of Pegasus Bridge after the successful completion of Operation Deadstick. The glider in which he landed is in the background under the trees.
 
On the night of June 5-6, 1944, during Operation Tonga, units of the 6th Division were the first to fight in the Normandy landings. They were dropped by gliders and parachuted behind Sword Beach to secure the eastern flank of the Allied landing zone. Their objectives included the capture of Pegasus Bridge and the bridge over the River Orne, as well as the destruction of the Merville battery - all of which were achieved. Operation Tonga continued with the parachuting of further divisional units to hold the sector and counter German counter-offensives.
 
The reverse of these coins depicts a spiral of all the Allied nations that took part in the landings, whether on land, sea or in the air. The stars under the flags are also a tribute to the Liberty Road, the milestones marking the route taken by the 3rd American Army to liberate France, as far as Luxembourg.
 
The Collection
The D-Day landings on 6 June 1944 were a decisive turning point in the Second World War: the Liberation of France and Europe began on the beaches of Normandy. 80 years on, the Monnaie de Paris is paying tribute to the nations and men who took part in the liberation of France and Europe.
 
To mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, we had to find an original artistic approach.
 
Previous anniversaries had been celebrated with rather allegorical coins bringing together all the forces in one creation; this year, we have chosen to follow 4 singular destinies through this incredible human adventure that was the D-Day.