I’m beginning to think that every branch of the French government has a museum: public hospitals, the postal service, now the national mint, and I haven’t even made it to the police museum yet.
Not a lot of surprises here: you start with ancient Greek money and work your way up to the Monnaie’s operations in the 20th century. There are some mildly interesting things, such as a display on how Revolutionary authorities ran out of precious metals and tried to coin money from melted-down church bells (which presented all sorts of problems, since the bells apparently thought “screw you, Supreme Being” and stuck in the molds).
But I did think of a perfect use for this museum. It’s free, it’s not too overwhelming (three big rooms – about an hour for someone who’s really into it), it’s got both historical interest and machines, it’s really easy to find (in a bigass building facing the river), and it’s surrounded by antique shops… in short, a perfect place to send your visiting parents for a morning while you run errands (aka, sleep off a hangover). One of them can shop, and the other can think about the Vichy government or how s/he wishes that her/his home drill press was as big as the Mint’s. Forget “Paris with Children” – we need more “Paris with Parents” activities.
