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.
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.