100 Francs - Louis Philippe I pattern of Caqué

Armand-Augustin Caqué was a die-engraver and passionate advocate for reforming French coinage aesthetics, and his unsolicited pattern submissions to the Monnaie de Paris were a recurring feature of mid-nineteenth century French numismatic production. This 1831 essai was never adopted — the July Monarchy ultimately retained more conservative designs — but Caqué continued submitting proposals for decades, and his rejected patterns now constitute a recognized collecting category in their own right.

Tin was the standard material for trial strikes of this period, keeping costs low while still capturing die detail faithfully enough for official review.