Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Franc - Napoleon III Essai
| Issuer | Monnaie de Paris |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Franc |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central device features the imperial coat of arms of the French Empire: a circular shield bearing the Napoleonic eagle with wings displayed, surmounted by an imperial crown with ermine mantling, flanked by two crossed standards hung with battle honours. Below the shield hangs the badge of the Légion d'honneur suspended from a decorative collar. The denomination numeral '1' appears to the lower left and the letter 'F' to the lower right of the central device. The legend EMPIRE FRANÇAIS arcs along the upper periphery, and the date 1862 is inscribed at the base of the coin, flanked by decorative foliate stops. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Essais from the Second Empire were produced by the Monnaie de Paris as official trial strikes for ministerial and administrative approval, not for public sale or collector markets — that distinction came later. This 1862 piece likely accompanied the broader coinage revision process that followed Napoleon III's decree reorganizing franc denominations and consolidating design standards across the imperial series. Surviving examples owe their condition to immediate archival preservation rather than chance.