10 Centimes Daniel-Dupuis Projet en bronze, flan épais

Daniel-Dupuis submitted this thick-flan bronze projet in 1896 as part of the competitive process to redesign French small coinage — a process the Third Republic ran with unusual formality, soliciting multiple artists and striking trial pieces before committing to production. Dupuis ultimately won the commission, and his design entered circulation in 1898. What makes the flan épais variant specifically interesting is that it was almost certainly struck for presentation or committee review, not as a production prototype, meaning these pieces passed through official hands before any public ever saw the design.