Toning up your Treasure | Member-Written NOW Articles

In newsletters past, we have made the comparison in these pages between the end of our one-cent coin and the demise of the small change of Canada. Let’s take this a bit further, and look at the smallest of small change of a major European country, meaning France and the French franc, once used widely and in colonies.

After all, France is a strong economy, and when the Euro came out, the French franc was pretty healthy. But let’s take a peek at what was once its smallest type.

Un Centime:

France had for decades chopped its franc into 100 smaller units, the centimes. One hundred centimes made up a franc, and the smallest of them was the little un centime coins, made of copper. These were made as far back as the years of the French Revolution and can be identified as being minted in those turbulent years because the date had been switched from one we are used to into something like “L’An V,” meaning the fifth year of the Revolution. The obverse of the one centime is something we might have expected from classic U.S. coinage, too.

Here, the image of an allegorical figure of Liberty, sporting a Phrygian cap, looks quite a bit like many of our own coins. To that end, a comparison of the un centime obverse design and the rare but beautiful Confederate one-cent piece can make a person wonder if the latter was simply lifted and then changed a little bit.

After all, the un centime was the first of the two to come out, by several years, and they are amazingly similar. These little coins are not exactly the stuff of dealer bargain bins, since many are basically 200 years old. But since they are copper and not heavily collected, the prices are not too high. It was the 1850s that saw a major league design change on this small piece of copper coinage. Now, the head of Napoleon III graced the obverse, and a perched eagle dominated the reverse.

Issued from 1853-57, these are not particularly expensive pieces. Changes in design for these little coins, and their larger siblings, often corresponded to changes in the French government overall. The one centime would continue as the smallest of the French copper coins all the way up to 1920, during which the figure of a woman as Liberty began to be called Marianne. There were a couple of designs in this time span, but by 1921, it must have seemed like the game was up.

The one centime took a nap longer than Rip van Winkle’s, and only came back to the world of the living in 1962. But by then, inflation had eaten away at the system enough that this new one centime was a stainless-steel piece with very little purchasing power. For today’s collector, most steel coins are very inexpensive, and these little guys are no exception to the rule. The final hurrah for the one centime coin was in the late 1990s. By this point, they were being minted for inclusion in proof sets only and were not seen in daily transactions.

With the introduction of the Euro, this smallest of denominations finally rested.

P.C.G.S.

Deux Centimes:

For part of the time during which France pounded out little un centime coins, the Monnaie de Paris also cranked out a slightly bigger version, the deux centime pieces. They did not get around to these until 1853, and the final year of issue was 1920, with plenty of dormant years in that stretch. As we might expect, the images are basically the same as those on the un centimes of matching years.

Thinking of this in a sort of comparison with United States coinage, it is basically the same as the images on our half-cents and our large one-cent coins. The deux-centime pieces remained copper right up until their demise in 1920. These are usually not too expensive, although those from the 1800s will probably only be found in a dealer’s bargain bin if they have seen a lot of wear. And yes, some of these must have been used quite a bit, as they can be found worn almost smooth.

But for any collector who thinks the un centime pieces are simply too small to see properly, well, why not step up a notch to the deux or “cinq” into another kind?

Cinq Centimes:

Like the un centime coins, the cinq centime pieces are copper, and do have a history that goes all the way back to the years of the French Revolution. We can call these small change simply because the denomination is low, but now we have stepped up a bit in size to a coin that has a bit of heft to it. Back during the “L’An” years, this bit of small change must have actually had some purchasing power.

As the twentieth century dawned, the cinq centimes coins had an upgrade that plenty of collectors notice, even if they do not collect classic French coinage. They got a hole right through the middle. This meant that the image of a French Lady Liberty was gone – although her cap was still in place, above the hole. As well, all the reverse design elements had to be spread around the hole and not sink into it.

The hole lasted until the 1930s, and the denomination made it all the way up to 2001, but these little guys ended their run as brass pieces. Still, this is one that basically survived until the introduction of the Euro in the distant time of 1999.

Dix Centimes:

It’s a bit debatable as to whether or not the ten-centimes coin – the dix centimes – qualifies as a small denomination or not. The debate exists because these were indeed base metal coins for much of their existence, but when we compare them to U.S. series, our dimes are the smallest silver coins we have had since our start.

The dix centimes are pretty much the big sibling of their cinq centimes counterparts, and also ran right up to the introduction of the Euro. All things considered, the smallest of the coins that were used in France may never have had much purchasing power, but it can be a fun collecting challenge today.

Mark Benvenuto has been collecting since the 1960s and became seriously interested in the silver coins of pre-World War II Germany when he was stationed in Mannheim in the 1980s.

Have an interesting numismatic topic you’d like to share with your fellow NOW members?

Send your article to evan.pretzer@protonmail.com today!!!

For more NOW Articles Written By Members, join N.O.W. today!