2 Francs Essai aluminium, raised rim

In 1948, the Monnaie de Paris produced a series of essais — trial strikes — to evaluate candidate designs and alloys for postwar French coinage. Aluminium was among the metals seriously tested, a reflection of how thoroughly the war had disrupted France's industrial supply chains and depleted its non-ferrous metal reserves. The raised rim variant catalogued here as KM#E6a differs from the standard essai precisely in that edge treatment, a deliberate production variable rather than an accidental die state.

Essais from this period were struck in very small quantities, primarily for submission to the monetary authorities and for archival retention at the Paris mint itself.