2 Francs - Napoleon I

The 2 Francs of this period was struck under the Germinal monetary law of 1803, which established the franc de germinal as a fixed-weight silver standard that would anchor French coinage for over a century. Napoleon viewed monetary stability as inseparable from political authority — the currency reform was as deliberate as any military campaign. Mintage figures fluctuate sharply across the six-year run, with some branch mint years genuinely scarce and others produced in quantity sufficient to flood the Italian satellite states.

The MA mintmark of Marseille and the CL of Genoa are the stops most worth scrutinizing before cataloging any example from this type.