10 Francs - Napoleon III Pattern

Pattern coinage from the Second Empire was produced largely at the initiative of the Monnaie de Paris itself, testing proposed design modifications before any official authorization was granted. The Mazard 1620 sits in a contested zone of French numismatics — classified as an essai rather than a trial piece proper, meaning it was struck with full production intent pending administrative approval that, in this case, never came.

Napoleon III's monetary reforms of the early 1860s were inseparable from his push to establish the Latin Monetary Union, formalized in 1865. Many patterns from this window reflect design and weight standardization debates among France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy.