Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Essai de 2 centimes en nickel
| Issuer | France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1890 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | 20 mm |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central circular perforation surrounded by an inner beaded border. The annular field bears the two-line legend in raised relief: 'ESSAI DE NICKEL' above and 'PROJET 1890' below, separated by raised dots. An outer beaded border frames the entire design. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central circular perforation enclosed by an inner beaded border. In the annular field, a rooster is depicted below the hole and a laurel or olive branch appears above, with the denomination numeral and unit inscription arranged within the remaining field. An outer beaded border frames the entire reverse. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The French Third Republic experimented extensively with coinage composition in the 1880s and 1890s, and this nickel silver essai from 1890 belongs to that broader testing program — one driven partly by the rising cost of bronze and partly by lobbying from French metallurgical interests pushing cupro-nickel and related alloys. None of these nickel-series trials for small denominations were adopted; France retained bronze for its centime coinage until the denomination was effectively abandoned through inflation following the First World War.