1 franc Semeuse Pré-série listel large, nickel

The Semeuse design had already served France on silver francs since 1898, but the transition to nickel in 1959 required extensive pre-series testing before the type entered circulation. This "listel large" variant — distinguished by its broad rim — was produced as a trial piece to evaluate die spacing and edge definition on the new alloy, and was never released to the public. GEM 104.16 sits in a narrow window of documented pre-series trials from that retooling period, most of which were struck in very small numbers and retained by the Monnaie de Paris or distributed to institutional collections.