100 Francs Statue of Liberty, Piedfort

Issued to mark the centennial of the Statue of Liberty's dedication on October 28, 1886, this piedfort was struck by the Monnaie de Paris as part of a coordinated French-American commemorative program acknowledging France's role in conceiving and funding the monument. Piédfort production at the Paris mint uses double-thickness planchets struck multiple times under extreme pressure, a technique the mint has maintained since the medieval period when piédforts served as official weight standards for assayers.

The .920 fineness is characteristic of French gold coinage practice rather than the .900 standard common to U.S. issues of the period.