France 1871-A 5 centimes

from the Mountain Groan Collection

The specimen shown is a five centimes, Cérès head, of a type struck under the Third Republic of France 1871-98. The majority, including this one, are Paris mint issues but Bordeaux produced this type in 1871-78. There are 41 dates in the series, with a few rare dates, most notably the 1871-K and 1878-K. The 1871-A is a common date. The catalog^[1] notes a scarcer variety with a small mintmark (F.118/1). The total production for the series is about 73 million, compared to 414 million Napoleon III "bare head" five centimes (1853-57) and 90 million "laureate head" five centimes (1861-65). The Cérès head was replaced by the "Marianne" head designed by Daniel-Dupuis (struck 1898-1921). All the bronze five centimes pieces were demonetized in 1935.

Recorded mintage: 2,238,382^[1].

Specification: 5 g, bronze, 25 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by Eugéne-André Oudiné (1810-1887).

Catalog reference: F.118/2, Gad-157a, KM 821.1.

Source:

• ^[1]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.

Link to:

• 1864-BB 5 centimes Napoleon III
• 1871-K 10 centimes
• 1871-A 50 centimes
• 1871-A franc
• 1871-K franc
• 1871-A 2 francs with legend
• 1871-K 2 francs without legend
• France 1871 5 francs Maz-926, pretender Henry V
• 1871-A 5 francs, Hercules type
• 1871-K 5 francs, Hercules type
• 1871-A 20 francs d'or
• 1872-A 5 centimes
• Coins and currency dated 1871
• return to French five centimes, 1795-2001