The europa was a token coinage created in 1928 by Joseph Archer [fr], a politician and industrialist from the Nièvre region of France. The currency was promoted by Philibert Besson [fr], the elected deputy for the Haute-Loire who, along with Archer, was an important figure in the early European federalist movement. The coins were minted in the name of a hypothetical "Federated States of Europe" (États Fédérés d'Europe).