France, 1 franc, 1992

And here is today’s coin…

France, 1 franc, 1992 (KM #925.1)

I first featured this type of French franc on 25 August 2011.

What happened in 1992? The Soviet Union dissolved into the Confederation of Independent States. Former Soviet states Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia, now separate nations, minted their first coins in decades. Mexico revalued their peso 1,000 to one. Argentina revalued their peso 10,000 to one. The Olympic Games were held in Barcelona, Spain. Bill Clinton won the election, making George H. W. Bush the latest incumbent president to lose a reelection bid and our latest single-term president. The Rodney King Riots tore apart Los Angeles. Jay Leno replaced Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. Disney scored a hit with Aladdin, but Army of Darkness and A Few Good Men also draw movie audiences. And I visited New Mexico

Metal Nickel
Weight 6 g
Diameter 24 mm
Thickness 1.79 mm
Engraver Louis-Oscar Roty
Shape Round
Orientation Coin alignment
Demonetized 02-17-2002

France, 1/2 franc, 1965

Sorry of the many months with posts. Here’s hoping I can climb back in this saddle and stay in it this time.

France, 1/2 franc, 1965 (KM #931.1)

In 1965, France replaced its large brass 50-centime coin with this smaller but thicker coin of solid nickel. The sower design is a French classic from the 1890s. The coin’s nickel content alone is worth about $0.09 USD. That is your consolation prize, since this coin was demonetized in the Euro Advent.

Mintage = 184,833,000
Metal Nickel
Weight 4.52 g
Diameter 19.43 mm
Thickness 1.95 mm
Engraver Louis-Oscar Roty
Shape Round
Orientation Coin alignment
Demonetized 02-17-2002

France, 2 francs, 1941 (aluminum)

Another bonus coin for today.

France, 2 francs, 1941 (aluminum) (KM #885a)

France made two kinds of 2-franc coins in 1941, using the exact same design and diameter. One is made of brass, and the other of aluminum. Today’s coin is the latter type. Next year, the 1931 design by Morlon would be replaced with the Vichy double-axe. Morlon’s design would return to French coins with the re-establishment of the legitimate French government in 1944, and would continue until Oscar Roty’s designs are resurrected in 1960 for the Noveau Franc. By the way, this coin is worthless.

Mintage is unreported.
Metal Aluminum
Weight 2.2 g
Diameter 27 mm
Thickness 1.8 mm
Engraver Pierre-Alexandre Morlon
Shape Round
Orientation Coin alignment
Demonetized yes

France, 10 centimes, 1941

This one is going to get oddly specific.

France, 10 centimes, 1941 (KM #897)

The French made three different varieties of the 10 centime coin in 1941. This is the type with the underlined “MES” and with dots on both sides of the date. This is a zinc version of the copper-nickel 10 centime coin that had been in production since 1920, and the Vichy state would stamp their own national design on this coin starting in 1942.

Mintage is unreported.
Metal Zinc
Weight 2.5 g
Diameter 21 mm
Engraver Edmond-Emile Lindauer
Shape Round with a hole
Orientation Coin alignment
Demonetized 07-31-1947

France, 10 centimes, 1850s

The first coin I pulled today is one of these:

France, 10 centimes (KM #771)

This half dollar sized copper coin was made somewhere between 1853 and 1857, and featured Louis Napoleon III as Emperor of France. Demonetized in 1935, it has been a long time since this coin was spendable anywhere, and is certainly more valuable as a disk of copper. I’ve seen several of these pass through my collection, almost always in poor condition.

Metal Bronze
Weight 10 g
Diameter 30.2 mm
Engraver Jean-Jacques Barre
Shape Round
Orientation Coin alignment
Demonetized 01-01-1935

My coin is nearly worn smooth. The date reads “18 something something” and I cannot make out the mintmark on the reverse. Mintage could be as much as 19 million. Since I can’t conclusively identify this coin beyond type, it is not a coin of the day, and I’ll skip to another one.

France, 20 centimes, 1976

Say hello to Marianne.

France, 20 centimes, 1976 (KM #930)

This is the same type of coin as the one featured on 22 January 2011. Mintage is 117,610,000.

Metal Copper-Aluminum-Nickel
Weight 4 g
Diameter 23.5 mm
Thickness 1.4 mm
Engravers Henri Lagriffoul (obverse)
Adrien Dieudonné (reverse)
Shape Round
Orientation Coin alignment
Demonetized 02-17-2002

France, 50 francs, 1952

It’s been a awhile, but I haven’t forgotten. Here’s a coin for today.

France, 50 francs, 1952 (KM #918.1)

This was the highest valued French coin at the time, but a 100-franc coin would debut two years later. Rendered obsolete long ago, these larger 50Fr coins are much less common than the dime-a-dozen 10Fr coins, but with a mintage of 74,211,600, this one is still the most common of its type.

Metal Aluminum-bronze
Weight 8 g
Diameter 27 mm
Thickness 2.24 mm
Engraver Georges Guiraud
Shape Round
Orientation Coin alignment
Demonetized 08-03-1966

Vichy France, 1 franc, 1944

Another coin from ’44…

France, 1 franc, 1944 (KM #902)

The same coins as the one from March 27th (which has been a popular Coin of the Day post), just one year younger.

Mintage = 50,605,000
Metal Aluminum
Weight 1.3 g
Diameter 23 mm
Thickness 1.45 mm
Engraver L. Bazor
Shape Round
Orientation Coin alignment
Demonetized yes

France, 2 eurocents, 1999

And a coin for today:

France, 2 eurocents, 1999 (KM #1283)

When it comes to placing dates on coins, there are two traditions. Some nations, like the USA and Germany, date their coins for when they are put into circulation. Other nations, like France, date their coins for when they are made, regardless of how long it takes them to enter circulation. That is why this eurocoin is dated three years earlier than the introduction of Euro coins and banknotes for usage. France, as did Belgium, Finland, Spain, and the Netherlands, spent three years striking eurocoins in advance, preparing to meet the high demands when the coins became legal tender on EuroDay in 2002. The French dating tradition makes more sense to me, especially when I receive a shiny new 2010 coin well into 2011, fresh from the Mint wrapper. With a mintage of 702,104,013, this is the most common date for all French 2-cents. Like all 2 eurocent coins, it is worth 2.8 cents USD.

Metal Copper plated Steel
Weight 3.06 g
Diameter 18.75 mm
Thickness 1.67 mm
Engravers F. Courtiade (obverse)
L. Luycx (reverse)
Shape Round
Orientation Medal alignment

France, 10 francs, 1948

Sorry for the month-long update outage. Life gets in the way. I was feeling overwhelmed by my daily upkeep, and my Coin of the Day feature was an easy thing to trim. But here’s at least one update for now.

France, 10 francs, 1948 (KM #909.1)

Unlike the ten franc coin featured in the last update in April, this one is from the old franc era before 1960, the same as the 20 franc coin from March 19th. Twice demonetized, it has no legal tender value left, and with a mintage of 155,945,000 is not a valuable numismatic item either.

Metal Copper-nickel
Weight 7 g
Diameter 26 mm
Thickness 1.74 mm
Engraver Pierre Turin
Shape Round
Orientation Coin alignment
Demonetized yes