5 francs Hercule de Dupré Essai

The Hercule type, derived from Augustin Dupré's late eighteenth-century design, was periodically revived for the Fifth Republic's franc coinage as a deliberate nod to Revolutionary-era republican iconography. This 1996 essai was struck by the Monnaie de Paris as part of its final years of franc-denominated trial production — within three years, the monetary framework that made such pieces necessary would begin its formal dissolution ahead of euro adoption in 1999. Essais of this period were produced in strictly limited numbers for collectors and archival purposes, not for circulation approval.