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25 Centimes

Issuer Banque de France
Year 1938-1940
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Weight 4 g
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Obverse script Latin
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Reverse description The reverse displays the denomination '25' to the left of the central hole and 'CMES' (centimes) to the right, both rendered in large, bold numerals and letters flanking the perforation. The French Republican motto 'LIBERTÉ·ÉGALITÉ FRATERNITÉ' is inscribed in two arching lines across the upper portion of the field. A decorative sprig of laurel or olive branches rises from the lower field, framing the central hole. The date is struck at the bottom, divided by a small ornamental motif, with dots flanking the year.
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Additional information

Issued in the final years of the Third Republic, this piece was produced as France lurched toward catastrophe — the 1940 dates were struck while German forces were already advancing through the Ardennes. Nickel silver was chosen partly to conserve strategic metals, a compromise that proved short-lived; occupation authorities would soon requisition even these base alloys. Surviving 1940-dated pieces are notably scarcer than their 1938 and 1939 counterparts, production having been cut short by the armistice of June 22nd.

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