Faux d'époque de 1 francs - type Semeuse 1898

Contemporary counterfeits of the Semeuse franc circulated widely enough during the Third Republic that the Monnaie de Paris quietly adjusted its acceptance protocols at certain regional treasuries. These pieces were not souvenir fakes or later fabrications — they were made to spend, typically silver-plated over a tin core to approximate the genuine coin's heft and surface appearance closely enough to pass in low-value transactions. The weight loss relative to the genuine 5-gram silver standard was rarely detected by hand.

Tin-core construction is confirmed by corrosion patterns where the plating has failed at the edges.