Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 Cents Magnetic
| Issuer | French Indochina |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Draped bust of Marianne facing right, her hair swept back and adorned with a Phrygian cap, holding an olive branch in her left hand before her. The engraver's signature P.TURIN appears in the right field. The circular legend REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE runs along the upper periphery, within a rope-and-leaf border. The date 1939 is inscribed in the exergue, separated from the central design by a horizontal line. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Latin |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The 1939 nickel 20 cents was produced just as Japanese pressure on French Indochina was tightening — France itself would fall to Germany within a year, leaving the colonial administration in a precarious position under Vichy authority. The magnetic property distinguishes this issue from earlier non-magnetic nickel 20-cent pieces; the shift in alloy composition reflected wartime metal supply constraints rather than any deliberate monetary policy.
Coins of this type saw relatively brief free circulation before Japanese occupation disrupted normal commerce after 1940.