Catalog
50 Centimes
| Issuer | Monnaie de Paris |
|---|---|
| Year | 1924-1926 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centimes (0.50) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Laureate and draped bust of Marianne facing left, her hair gathered in flowing locks beneath an olive wreath, within a beaded border. The legend REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE arcs around the periphery, with the date in the exergue below the effigy. The engraver's signature A.PATEY appears in small incuse letters beneath the truncation of the neck. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
France's postwar coinage of the early 1920s was a direct consequence of wartime metal hoarding and the near-total disappearance of silver from circulation — the 50 centimes denomination had been struck in silver as recently as 1920, but rampant melting and export made a lighter, baser alloy inevitable. Aluminium bronze was the practical answer, adopted across several low denominations simultaneously. The Paris Mint transitioned quickly, and these pieces entered circulation into an economy still wrestling with franc depreciation and the fiscal aftermath of reconstruction debt.