10 Francs pattern of Bénard

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.