10 francs Stendhal Piéfort cupro-nickel aluminium

Piéforts — struck at double the normal planchet thickness — have been a Monnaie de Paris specialty since the medieval period, though their modern collector series dates to the early 1970s. This 1983 issue honors Henri Beyle, better known by his pen name Stendhal, in the centenary year of his birth — actually, Stendhal was born in 1783, making 1983 the bicentennial. The piéfort format was never intended for circulation; these were sold directly to collectors and issued in strictly limited quantities through the Monnaie de Paris subscription program.