2 Francs - Marie-Adélaïde Essai

Marie-Adélaïde became Grand Duchess of Luxembourg in 1912 at seventeen, following her father's abdication. The 1914 essai coinage was prepared in anticipation of a circulating series that never materialized — German occupation began in August of that year, suspending normal government functions and rendering the planned currency moot. Most essai pieces from this issue survive in small quantities because they never entered production pipelines at all.

Marie-Adélaïde's wartime conduct — she remained in Luxembourg and received Kaiser Wilhelm II — later cost her the throne. She abdicated in 1919 under Allied pressure.