5 Centimes Essai en nickel de Merley, type I à 16 pans

In the early 1900s, the Monnaie de Paris ran a prolonged series of competitive essai trials to find a replacement for the bronze 5-centime coinage that had circulated since the Second Empire. Merley's 16-sided (hexadecagonal) design was one of several competing proposals, the distinctive shape intended to aid identification by touch — a practical concern in an era of widespread illiteracy. This Type I designation distinguishes it from subsequent refinements Merley submitted in the same trial cycle.

The design was ultimately rejected. France retained a round flan for the denomination.