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50 Francs - Charlotte John the Blind, Essai
| Issuer | Grand Duchy of Luxembourg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1946 |
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| Diameter | 31 mm |
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| Obverse lettering | PRENZ•JEAN•VU•LETZEBURG ESSAI A.B. •50 F.• |
| Reverse description | Dynamic equestrian scene depicting John the Blind, Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, charging to the left in full armour, his sword raised aloft and a heraldic shield on his arm, mounted on a rearing warhorse whose mane and caparison stream behind in vigorous motion. A banner bearing his personal motto 'SERVIAM' ('I shall serve') is shown unfurled across the mid-field. The circular legend 'JANG DE BLANNEN' arcs around the upper periphery within a beaded border. Below the horse, the commemorative dates '26-VIII-' and '1346-1946' record the six-hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Crécy and John's death. The engraver's signature 'BONNETAIN' appears at the lower right. |
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| Additional information |
Luxembourg's postwar monetary reorganization prompted a series of pattern strikes in 1946, none of which entered circulation. This gold essai was produced as Charlotte sought to reassert institutional continuity after five years of Nazi occupation — the Grand Duchy's gold reserves had been evacuated to France and then Canada in 1940, and the entire currency framework required reconstruction from the ground up.
The John the Blind commemorative pairing was deliberate: the blind king who died at Crécy in 1346 carried an almost mythological weight in Luxembourg national identity, particularly useful at a moment when that identity needed reasserting. The essai never advanced to a minting proposal.