Renren54 what kind of coin is this?
Renren54
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Found it on the ground at the park
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Sapyx
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Although this coin is listed under "France" in the catalogues, and has the same design as homeland French coins, it was actually struck for use in the liberated French colonies in Africa.
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JBK
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@Sapyx said:
Although this coin is listed under "France" in the catalogues, and has the same design as homeland French coins, it was actually struck for use in the liberated French colonies in Africa.Good history lesson. I was not aware that this coin was minted for use in "Free France".
Politically if not physically, the French government existed in exile during WWII when the Germans occupied France. Certain French colonies and territories were beyond the German's reach or ability (or willingness) to control. Thet were considered free France.
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Were they minted in France?
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Don
Thank you i loved the lessons of the coin you all are Awsome !!
I don't know where they were minted but I assume that coins for free France would not have been minted in Nazi occupied France.
This date comes in aluminum-bronze and aluminum. What metal is the coin? It's hard to tell from the picture.
The Standard Catalog denotes a mintmark of (a) in parentheses, suggesting that the Mint was Paris, but that no mintmark actually appears on the coin. The Gadoury book suggests the same.
Apparently some of these Aluminum-Bronze coins have a "C" mintmark for Castelsarrasin. The "C" mintmark is more desirable, per the SCWC.
The Gadoury book states that this overseas type in Aluminum-Bronze was demonetized in 1949, and that 88% of the mintage between 1945 to 1947 was collected up and destroyed by authorities.
Before the War, this coin was issued in Nickel for use in France, and in Aluminum-Bronze for use in Algeria. After the war, this coin was issued in Aluminum for use in France, and again in Aluminum-Bronze for Algeria (and perhaps other parts of North Africa). French coinage got rather cruddy after the War, typical daily coinage denominations were greatly increased, and the circulation money became something of a joke. DeGaulle and his advisers got things back on a better track in the early 1960s, chopping two zeros off of the franc - 100 old francs became 1 new franc.
I'm not sure of the metal im still very new to this and don't know how to tell do I weigh it ?
Aluminum-bronze is gold colored and weighs 12 grams. Aluminum is white/silver and weighs 3.75 grams.
A very informative and overall accurate synopsis. The only thing I would speak to is your last statement. What happened was far more complicated than simply devaluing the money by 99%. The Fourth French Republic was dissolved and the Fifth Republic was formed. This did not happen overnight and De Gaulle was politician enough to fall in a pig sty and smell like a rose and statesmen enough to change things enough to set the country on a better path.
@Moxie15 I would not call it a 99% devaluation- you called it that. I would call it a monetary conversion, more a matter of psychology. DeGaulle and his advisors understood the psychology of the French people extremely well. What they could not do was restore the losses of the Frenchmen who had trusted the Franc during the late Third and the Fourth Republics. What they did was establish a more stable system going forward.
@BillDugan1959
First I must say that I respect you, your vast knowledge, and your opinion.
Yes I called it devaluation a 1958 franc lost 99% of its value
Your statement that the New Franc was a "monetary conversion, more a matter of psychology..." is a misrepresentation and an extreme over simplification of the situation.
A monetary conversion would have been more along the lines of England's Decimalization Day
A Brief History of the Fourth republic
1945 De Gaul is appointed interim President of France
1946 De Gaul steps down to allow an election Felix Gouin defeats him, De Gual retires and is out of Government
1946 A new constitution is adapted creating the Fourth Republic
1947 Vincent Auriol elected president
1954 Rene Coty elected president
May 1958 A coup led by several French Generals and at least 1 admiral overthrows the French led government of Algiers
28-29 May 1958 Pres. Coty dissolves Parliament to prevent civil war and appoints De Gaul to form a cabinet of advisers
June 1 1958 The National Assembly elected De Gaul leader to govern by ordinances for a period of six months while the cabinet drafted a new constitution.
28-Sep-1958 new constitution ratified Fifth Republic formed
21-Dec-1958 De Gaul Elected president
I have never been able to pin down exact dates but coinage stopped in 1958 and was not resumed until sometime in 1960 with the 1 franc followed with the 5 centime in 1961 and the other minors in 1962 with a value of 1 old franc equal to 1 new centime.
The loss of value of the Franc (purchasing power) occurred long before General DeGaulle was made head of state in 1958. He and his advisers were simply trying to restore some credibility/ respectability to the money by reducing the number of zeros. They also added some silver coins to help restore confidence. 100 old Francs and 1 new Franc had much the same purchasing power at the time of the conversion. It was cosmetic, not confiscation. If the French had had 99% of their purchasing power in their pockets stolen in one fell swoop, there would have been another Revolution in 1959.