5 Centimes Dupré Essai piéfort en maillechort de Dupré

The 1902 piéfort essais of the Dupré 5-centimes type were produced internally at the Paris Mint as trial strikings, almost certainly connected to ongoing deliberations over France's small-denomination coinage composition in the early Third Republic. Maillechort — the French term for nickel silver, a copper-nickel-zinc alloy — was being actively evaluated as a cheaper and more durable alternative to bronze for low-value coins. These pieces were never adopted for circulation.

Piéforts of this type exist in very small numbers, struck at double or greater thickness as proofs of die quality rather than monetary proposals.