50 euro – XIII

This year, Monnaie de Paris is highlighting the comic strip "XIII", illustrated by William Vance (and Jean Giraud for one album) and written by Jean Van Hamme. The series is a thriller set in the US, with the story revolving around an amnesiac searching for his identity while being hunted by enemies for reasons unknown to him. The creators stopped after publishing 19 albums, but two new albums are to be released in 2011, which is already considered "the year of XIII" in the comic-book world. The obverse features the hero’s profile with the number "XIII". On the reverse, a composition of cartoon frames features key characters from the series: Jones, The Mongoose, etc.