5 Francs - Charlotte Essai

The 1949 Luxembourg essai coinage was produced in anticipation of a new circulating series under Grand Duchess Charlotte, whose reign had been interrupted by German occupation from 1940 to 1944. Essais of this type were struck in limited numbers — typically for official distribution and archival purposes — and the copper examples represent trial strikes in a non-circulation metal, produced to test die quality and design approval before committing to a final alloy.

The series never achieved full circulation in this form. Charlotte's coinage went through multiple proposal stages in the immediate postwar years as Luxembourg rebuilt its monetary infrastructure within the newly established Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union.