1 Centavo Essai

The Dominican Republic's 1892 aluminium essais were pattern pieces produced in Paris, almost certainly by the Monnaie de Paris, as part of a broader evaluation of coinage proposals that never advanced to circulation. Aluminium was attracting serious attention from several Latin American governments during this period as a cheap, lightweight alternative to bronze — the metal had dropped dramatically in price following the commercialization of the Hall-Héroult electrolytic process in 1886. Nothing came of it here.