Born in Caen, Coin studied with Jacques Ripoche. At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied cello with André Navarra and graduated in 1974. From 1976, he studied on a scholarship in Vienna. He was influenced by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, among others. From 1978, he studied viola da gamba with Jordi Savall at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
