100 Francs Essai

Aversbeschreibung	Left-facing effigy of Marianne wearing a Phrygian cap, her hair flowing loosely behind her neck, rendered in high relief in the style of the French Republic allegory. The engraver's signature R·JOLY appears in the right field, while the word ESSAI is inscribed in the lower left field. The circular legend RÉPVBLIQVE FRANÇAISE runs along the upper periphery, flanked on both sides by a decorative geometric border of alternating triangular and chevron motifs. The date 1966 is prominently displayed in the lower exergue, separated by two pellets.
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Averslegende	RÉPVBLIQVE FRANÇAISE R·JOLY ESSAI 1966 (Translation: French Republic Trial)
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Zusätzliche Informationen	Essai pieces struck by the Monnaie de Paris in this period were produced as official trial strikes for proposed circulation types — not collector vanities, but working documents submitted for ministerial approval. This particular 100 Francs denomination was never adopted for general circulation, leaving the essai as the only realized form of the design. Surviving quantities are tightly controlled by the mint's own distribution practices of the 1960s, which typically limited essai issues to a few hundred pieces at most.