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20 Francs pré-série of Morlon

Issuer Monnaie de Paris
Year 1950
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Value 20 Francs
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Obverse script Latin
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Reverse description The reverse displays the denomination 20 FRANCS in large, bold numerals at the centre of the field, with FRANCS inscribed below in capital letters. The republican motto LIBERTE EGALITE FRATERNITE is arranged in three lines across the upper portion of the field. Two symmetrical olive branches flank the denomination, their sprigs curving outward from the lower centre toward the rim. The date 1950 appears in the exergue, flanked by small decorative devices. On examples carrying the word ESSAI, this inscription appears beneath the date, identifying the piece as a trial strike.
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Additional information

Pré-série pieces like this one were struck by the Monnaie de Paris as internal production trials — not pattern coins in the experimental sense, but pre-series runs used to verify die alignment, metal flow, and press calibration before authorizing full circulation strikes. The Morlon 20 Francs type had already seen years of production in aluminum bronze, and by 1950 the Fourth Republic was actively rationalizing the coinage amid postwar monetary instability. This specific pré-série reference suggests a batch struck for administrative approval rather than public release.

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