10 francs Montesquieu Piéfort or

Issued to commemorate the three-hundredth anniversary of Montesquieu's birth, this piéfort was struck at double the standard thickness — a production method the Monnaie de Paris has applied to commemorative issues for centuries, originally to create presentation pieces for diplomats and dignitaries. The all-gold bimetallic construction, with differing alloy purities between center and ring, is a technically demanding specification that distinguishes it sharply from the circulating bimetallic 10 francs of the same series.