5 Centimes - Ahmad II Zinc Essai

Trial strikes produced at the Paris Mint for Tunisia's proposed subsidiary coinage under Bey Ahmad II rarely reached circulation channels at all — essais of this type were made in strictly limited quantities for administrative approval purposes and distributed almost exclusively to ministry officials and privileged collectors. The zinc composition was under serious consideration as France sought cheaper coinage metals during the early Depression years, when the cost of maintaining colonial mint contracts was under pressure from Paris.

Lec#89 is among the scarcer Tunisia essai references in the Lecompte catalog.