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5 Francs - Louis II Silver Piedfort Essai
| Issuer | Monaco |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | Bare-headed bust of Prince Louis II facing left, rendered in high relief in a naturalistic portrait style by engraver L. Maubert. The effigy occupies the central field, with the engraver's signature L. MAUBERT and the word ESSAI inscribed in the lower field beneath the truncation. The circular legend LOUIS II PRINCE DE MONACO runs along the upper periphery, framed by a beaded border. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | 1945 - - 10 |
| Additional information |
Monaco's postwar coinage was complicated by Louis II's wartime neutrality and the principality's ambiguous status during the German occupation of southern France. The 1945 issue marked a resumption of normal monetary affairs, and piedfort essais of this type were struck in very small numbers — almost certainly fewer than a hundred pieces — as presentation and archival specimens for the administration. Piedforts by definition carry double the standard planchet thickness, making this piece a deliberate departure from anything intended for circulation.
Gadoury MC135 is the standard reference, though recorded populations remain thin across major auction houses.