50 centimes Marianne Piéfort Cupro-nickel alu

Piéforts from the Monnaie de Paris are struck at double the normal planchet thickness and produced exclusively for collectors, a practice the Paris mint has maintained since the medieval period. The 1962 issue in cupro-aluminium-nickel coincides with the first year of circulation strikes in this alloy for the 50 centimes Marianne type, making this piéfort the proof-of-concept companion to a new monetary series rather than a retrospective collectors' piece.

Mintages for these early Fifth Republic piéforts rarely exceeded a few hundred pieces.