France - Third Republic
The French Third Republic was proclaimed in 1870 after the French Second Empire under Napoleon III collapsed following the Franco-Prussian war.
Coinage changed in 1907 when “God Protect France” was replaced with the “Liberty Equality Fraternity,” following the French separation of church law of 1905. Gold was last minted in 1914 and silver in 1920.
When minting resumed, the franc was debased and no longer followed the Napoleonic / LMU coinage standard. The briefly minted 1935-1936 gold 100 francs had lower gold content than the old 20 francs. The 1929-1939 silver 10 francs was 10 grams at 0.68 fine, compared to the old 5 francs at 25 grams at 0.9 fine.
The French Third Republic ended in 1940 with the establishment of Vichy France. Later, under the French Fifth Republic, a 25 gram coin was minted mirroring the LMU standard. The 1864-1873 10 new francs was was 1/200th of old 5 francs.
Circulation Coins
Certain images are clickable for more detail
100 Francs
(Angel, “God Protect France” Edge)
100 Francs
(Rooster, “Liberty Equality Fraternity” Edge)
50 Francs
(Angel)
20 Francs
(Angel)
20 Francs
(Rooster, “God Protect France” Edge)
20 Francs
(Rooster, “Liberty Equality Fraternity” Edge)
During the 1950s, the 20 francs roosters were restruck. Only the 1907-1914 variety (“Liberty Equality Fraternity”) were used, due the separation of Church and state law. There is no definitive way to differentiate the originals from the restrikes.
