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1/4 Franc - Napoléon I Laureate head
| Issuer | Monnaie de Paris |
|---|---|
| Year | 1807-1808 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Franc (1795-1959) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Laureate bust of Napoleon I facing right, rendered in high relief with fine classical detail. The emperor's hair is bound beneath a laurel wreath, its leaves and berries crisply struck. The truncation of the bust is clean, with the engraver's signature 'Tiolier' inscribed in cursive script beneath. The circumferential legend reads NAPOLEON EMPEREUR, interrupted at the base by the signature, and the entire design is bordered by a fine dentilated rim. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | NAPOLEON EMPEREUR. Tiolier (Translation: NAPOLEON EMPEROR. Tiolier) |
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| Additional information |
The quarter franc was reintroduced under Napoleon's currency reforms of 1803, which established the franc germinal — a fixed bimetallic standard that would anchor French monetary policy for over a century. This laureate head type, struck across only two years before a design revision, was produced in relatively modest quantities at multiple mints simultaneously, each identified by a mint mark that dramatically affects survival rates today.
The 1807 Paris issues are substantially scarcer than 1808 equivalents. A large portion of the total production came from provincial mints at Lyon, Bordeaux, and Toulouse, where quality control was inconsistent enough that weakly struck pieces are the rule, not the exception for this type specifically.