Monaco's postwar coinage reform required new dies and authorizations that moved slowly through the principality's administrative channels, making essai strikes from this period the only physical evidence that several denominations were ever seriously considered. This piece was produced for approval purposes — not for circulation — and the total number struck was almost certainly in the dozens, not thousands.
The Gadoury reference places it among a small family of 1950 Monaco essais sharing the same circumstance: Rainier III had acceded only in 1949 following the death of Louis II, and his first coinage program was still being finalized.
Monaco's postwar coinage reform required new dies and authorizations that moved slowly through the principality's administrative channels, making essai strikes from this period the only physical evidence that several denominations were ever seriously considered. This piece was produced for approval purposes — not for circulation — and the total number struck was almost certainly in the dozens, not thousands.
The Gadoury reference places it among a small family of 1950 Monaco essais sharing the same circumstance: Rainier III had acceded only in 1949 following the death of Louis II, and his first coinage program was still being finalized.