1/2 Franc - Napoleon I

The demi-franc was introduced under the germinal coinage law of 7 April 1803 (17 germinal an XI), which overhauled French monetary weights and fineness standards for the first time since the Revolutionary period. Napoleon had not yet crowned himself emperor when these earliest dates were struck — that came in December 1804 — so the An XI and An XII issues occupy a narrow window when he held the title of First Consul, then Consul for Life. The political transition to Empire mid-series makes early dates technically distinct issues of different constitutional regimes.