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5 Francs Hercule, 3rd republic
| Issuer | Monnaie de Paris |
|---|---|
| Year | 1870-1889 |
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| Engraver(s) | Augustin Dupré |
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| Obverse description | Within the central field, the denomination '5 FRANCS' is inscribed in two lines, with the date below, all enclosed within a wreath composed of two branches — an olive branch to the left and an oak branch to the right — tied at the base with a ribbon bow, surmounted by a small floral ornament at the junction. The circular legend 'REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE' runs along the upper periphery. The mint mark appears at the bottom of the field below the wreath, between two small ornamental marks. The entire design is framed by a continuous beaded border. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | 1870 A - KM# 820.1 - 335,609 1871 A - KM# 820.1, different bee - 237,906 1871 A - KM# 820.1; different trident, spaced date `1871` - 1871 A - KM# 820.1; different trident, tight date `1871` - 1871 K - KM# 820.2 - 74,609 1872 A - KM# 820.1; large stars around the signature - 56,844 1872 A - KM# 820.1; small stars around the signature - 1872 K - KM# 820.2 - 20,994 1873 A - KM# 820.1 - 27,192,181 1873 A - KM# 820.1; small stars around the signature - 1873 K - KM# 820.2 - 3,949,717 1874 A - KM# 820.1 - 7,883,975 1874 K - KM# 820.2 - 3,903,138 1875 A - KM# 820.1, normal mintmark - 13,338,560 1875 A - KM# 820.1, small mintmark - 1875 K - KM# 820.2 - 1,661,440 1876 A - KM# 820.1 - 8,800,000 1876 K - KM# 820.2 - 1,732,263 1877 A - KM# 820.1 - 2,631,994 1877 K - KM# 820.2 - 660,863 1878 A - KM# 820.1 - 1,154 1878 A - KM# 820.1 - prooflike - 30 1878 K - KM# 820.2 - 363,130 1889 A/C - KM# 820.1 - prooflike - 20 |
| Additional information |
The Hercule 5 francs type was revived in 1870 specifically to distance the new Republic from the imperial coinage of Napoleon III — a deliberate iconographic break, reaching back to the Revolutionary-era Dupré design of 1795 to establish legitimacy through historical continuity rather than novelty. Production was interrupted sharply during the Franco-Prussian War and the Commune, with Paris itself briefly out of operation in 1871.
The type ran across five mints over its production life: Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Strasbourg (before its loss to Germany made that impossible), and Clermont-Ferrand. Bordeaux and Lyon strikings from the early 1870s are considerably scarcer than their Paris counterparts.