Révolution Française - Projet 1983

This piece belongs to a series commissioned by the Monnaie de Paris in anticipation of the French Revolution bicentennial, which would not arrive until 1989. The six-year lead time was deliberate — the project was conceived under the Giscard administration and carried through the political transition to Mitterrand's socialist government, which ultimately oversaw the full commemorative program. Florentine bronze, a matte-finished alloy favored for its resistance to fingerprint oils, was chosen specifically to distinguish these collector issues from standard currency strikes.