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5 Francs - Alexandre Berthier Pattern
| Issuer | Principality of Neuchâtel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1813 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Francs |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field displays the denomination 5 / FRANCS. in two lines, enclosed within a laurel and olive wreath tied at the base with a ribbon bow. Above the wreath, a princely crown with fleurs-de-lis and arches surmounts the composition. The date 181. appears in the exergue below the wreath, with the final digit intentionally incomplete, a characteristic of this pattern. The circumferential legend PRINCIPAUTE DE NEUCHATEL runs around the upper periphery of the coin. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Neuchâtel's status as a Napoleonic principality — gifted by the Emperor to his Chief of Staff Alexandre Berthier in 1806 — made it a geopolitical oddity: a Swiss canton governed by a French marshal who never once visited it. This 1813 pattern was produced on the eve of Napoleon's collapse, and no regular coinage in this type ever entered circulation. The copper-plated tin composition marks it unambiguously as a presentation or trial piece rather than a production prototype.
The Richt reference suffix "Fälschung" — German for forgery — flags that this piece exists in a documented false variant, a distinction worth tracking against the HMZ attribution before purchase.