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20 Centimes - Muhammad VIII Piedfort Essai
| Issuer | French Protectorate of Tunisia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
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| Composition | Zinc |
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| Obverse description | Central round hole surrounded by large Arabic legends filling the entire field. The inscription, arranged in multiple registers around the central perforation, reads the name and title of Muhammad Al-Amin, Muddat Bey of Tunisia, the denomination of 20 Centimes, and the Hijri date 1364. The border is decorated with a continuous beaded or scalloped inner rim, with a raised outer rim, giving the design a bold and ornate character typical of French Protectorate Tunisian coinage. |
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| Mint | Monnaie de Paris, Paris (and Pessac starting 1973), France (864-date) |
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| Additional information |
Piedfort essais of this type were produced by the Paris Mint as internal strike-quality and alloy tests, not for circulation — the zinc composition here reflects the severe material constraints imposed on French minting operations during and immediately after the German occupation. Zinc had replaced copper-nickel across most French and protectorate coinage from 1941 onward, and this essai documents that transition at the trial-piece level.
Muhammad VIII al-Amin, bey at the time of this strike, would later become the last ruling bey of Tunisia before independence in 1956.