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500 Francs Charlemagne - Pattern
| Issuer | Monnaie de Paris |
|---|---|
| Year | 1990 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Francs (500 FRF) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Facing portrait bust of Charlemagne, Emperor of the Franks, depicted with a full beard and wearing an elaborate crown surmounted by a cross. The effigy is rendered in a bold, stylized relief evoking medieval artistic traditions, with strong facial features and a regal, frontal aspect. The engraver's signature C. TIETZ appears below the portrait. The peripheral legend CHARLE MAGNE flanks the bust on either side, with the regnal dates 742 814 appearing in the lower field, denoting the emperor's birth and death years. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
This piece belongs to the Monnaie de Paris pattern series issued in 1990 to preview what became the circulating 500 Franc Charlemagne bimetallic coin. Pattern strikes of this type were produced in platinum specifically for presentation and archival purposes — the production circulation coin was struck in bimetal. Mintages for platinum essais from this program were extraordinarily small, often in the dozens rather than hundreds.
Charlemagne's selection as subject reflected French efforts in 1990 to anchor national identity to a pre-national European figure — politically useful as Maastricht negotiations were already underway.