100 Francs

This denomination was authorized under the Latin Monetary Union framework, which France had anchored since 1865, but the 100 Franc gold piece occupied an awkward commercial niche — too large for everyday transactions, too small for major banking settlements. Most saw limited hand-to-hand circulation and were treated effectively as bullion by the merchants and institutions that held them.

Production ceased entirely with the outbreak of war in August 1914, when France suspended gold convertibility and began requisitioning coin. Many pieces from this series were melted in subsequent wartime gold drives.