France 1894-A 5 centimes
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 1894-A is common. The total production for the series is about 73 million, compared to 414 million Napoleon III "bare head" 5 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. The only other denomination struck in 1880 was a ten centimes.
Recorded mintage: 2,240,000[1].
Specification: 5 g, bronze, 25 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by Eugéne-André Oudiné (1810-1887).
Catalog reference: F.118/36, Gad-157a, KM 821.1.
- [1]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
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