100 Francs - Louis Philippe Pattern

This is an essai struck in tin to test the proposed 100-franc gold denomination early in Louis-Philippe's July Monarchy, which had come to power just months before following the Three Glorious Days of July 1830. The new regime needed coinage that projected legitimate authority while distancing itself from both Bourbon absolutism and Napoleonic imagery — a politically delicate balancing act that drove multiple competing pattern submissions in 1831 and 1832 before production types were settled.

Tin was the standard working metal for such trials, chosen for its ease of striking and low cost rather than any intended circulation purpose. Mazard 1062 cross-references a very small surviving population.