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12½ Francs Elba island
| Issuer | Italy |
|---|---|
| Year | 2014 |
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| Composition | Nickel |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Right-facing bust of Napoleon Bonaparte in high relief, wearing his characteristic bicorne hat and military coat, occupying the right portion of the field. To the left, a detailed depiction of a stricken sailing ship listing heavily in turbulent seas alludes to Napoleon's exile voyage to Elba in 1814. The name 'Bonaparte' appears in curved lettering along the upper left arc of the field, while 'Napoléon' is inscribed in mirrored orientation along the lower left, creating a symmetrical double-legend effect. The field is otherwise plain with no exergue line. |
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| Additional information |
Elba's 12½ franc denomination deliberately echoes the coins Napoleon ordered struck during his 1814–1815 exile there, when the deposed emperor governed the island as a sovereign principality under the Treaty of Fontainebleau. Italy's 2014 issue marks the bicentennial of that brief, peculiar episode. The fraction itself is historically accurate — Napoleon's Elban monetary scheme divided units in a manner that aligned with his broader metrification logic, though the island's economy was too small and his tenure too short for any meaningful circulation to have occurred.