The February Revolution of 1848 toppled Louis-Philippe within days, and the provisional government of the newly proclaimed Second Republic immediately faced the problem of coinage — the old royal dies were politically unusable. A rapid competition produced numerous pattern submissions, of which Montagny's entry was among the more formally accomplished. Jean-François Domard and several other medallists submitted competing designs that same year; few of these patterns ever saw a second striking.
The Mazères reference lists this as a variety, suggesting at least minor die differences exist among surviving examples.
The February Revolution of 1848 toppled Louis-Philippe within days, and the provisional government of the newly proclaimed Second Republic immediately faced the problem of coinage — the old royal dies were politically unusable. A rapid competition produced numerous pattern submissions, of which Montagny's entry was among the more formally accomplished. Jean-François Domard and several other medallists submitted competing designs that same year; few of these patterns ever saw a second striking.
The Mazères reference lists this as a variety, suggesting at least minor die differences exist among surviving examples.