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20 francs - Albert Ier essai or
| Issuer | Monaco |
|---|---|
| Year | 1892 |
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| Composition | Gold (.900) |
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| Obverse description | Bare-headed effigy of Prince Albert I of Monaco in left-facing profile, rendered in high relief in the naturalistic style characteristic of Louis-Oscar Roty. The portrait features finely engraved hair and a short beard, with the truncation of the neck cut cleanly at the lower field. The circular legend reads ALBERT I PRINCE DE MONACO along the periphery, framed by a beaded border. The engraver's signature O. Roty and the word ESSAI appear in the lower exergual area beneath the portrait. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
This is an essai — a trial strike — produced in 1892 for a denomination that Monaco never officially circulated. Albert I had assumed the throne in 1889 following the death of Charles III, and the early years of his reign saw multiple proposed coinage designs submitted and struck for evaluation, most of which went no further. The Gadoury reference confirms this piece, but surviving examples are exceedingly rare precisely because essais of this type were struck in very limited numbers for official review, not distribution.