2 Francs - Louis II

Monaco's 1943 coinage was produced under Italian occupation, with Louis II having navigated the principality through an awkward neutrality that satisfied neither the Allies nor the Axis. Aluminium was the only practical option — strategic metals were entirely off the table under wartime requisitioning. The coins were struck in Paris under German-controlled Monnaie de Paris operations.

Mintage reached 600,000, yet survivors in problem-free condition are genuinely scarce, partly because Monaco's tiny resident population meant these circulated hard in a confined economy with no realistic chance of being set aside.