20 Francs - Napoleon III pattern of Barre

This is an essai — a trial piece produced internally by the Monnaie de Paris for official evaluation, not for public release. Denis-Joseph Royer de Barre served as chief engraver from 1855 until his death in 1878, and pattern pieces bearing his name represent proposals either submitted for review or struck as presentation examples for the administration. Whether this specific essai was competing against an alternative design or simply documenting an approved type at a trial stage is not always recoverable from mint records.

Mazeau 1612 places it within a small documented series. Survivors are overwhelmingly in high preservation precisely because they never entered commerce.