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10 Francs pattern of Bénard
| Issuer | Monnaie de Paris |
|---|---|
| Year | 1929 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Laureate bust of Marianne facing right, her long wavy hair falling freely over her shoulders, wearing a wreath of laurel leaves secured with a ribbon. The engraver's signature ESSAI / RAOUL BÉNARD appears in two lines in the lower right field. The circular legend REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE arcs around the periphery, flanked by a beaded border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | LIBERTE·EGALITE FRATERNITE 10 FRANCS 1929 |
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| Additional information |
In the late 1920s, France was actively searching for a viable 10 Francs coinage following the wartime destruction of the franc's silver standard. Several competing designs were submitted for official evaluation, and Bénard's copper-aluminium essai was among those tested for both metallurgical durability and public acceptability. The alloy itself was a serious proposal — aluminium bronzes were gaining favour across European mints for their resistance to wear and their lower intrinsic value relative to silver.
The design was never adopted. France ultimately issued a different 10 Francs type, leaving Bénard's pattern to survive almost exclusively in institutional and specialist collections.