1 Franc Piefort Essai

Piefort essais from the immediate postwar Monnaie de Paris are production tests struck at double the standard planchet thickness — in this case aluminium, the lightweight metal France adopted for its small denominations as wartime metal shortages dragged into the reconstruction period. The KM#PE1 designation confirms this as a recognized pattern issue, almost certainly produced in very small quantities for internal approval rather than public sale.