5 francs Lavrillier Epreuve en cupro-Nickel 1946

The Lavrillier 5 francs design had already been issued in aluminum by 1945, but the Paris Mint produced copper-nickel trial strikes — épreuves — in 1946 to evaluate alternative compositions as France sorted out its postwar industrial supply chains. Aluminum had been adopted partly out of wartime necessity, and these cupro-nickel pieces document the Mint's brief reconsideration of a denser, more durable alloy. The aluminum version ultimately prevailed in circulation. GEM 145.3 distinguishes this épreuve from the regular aluminum issue precisely because the composition never advanced beyond trial production.