France 1939 10 centimes
This specimen is a common date of a series struck 1938-39 during the last years of the French Third Republic. It superseded a similar coin struck in copper-nickel 1917-37. The addition of zinc made the coin cheaper to strike. Dots were added next to the date to mark the change. This design was also used for similar five and ten centime pieces; the central hole kept it from being confused with higher denominations with similar diameters. Production was suspended with the outbreak of World War Two and resumed in 1941 with the alloy changed to zinc (KM 895/KM 896/KM 897). This coin is very common in circulated condition but hard to find choice.
Recorded mintage: 62,268,500[1].
Specification: 3 g, "maillechort" (67%Cu-15%Ni-18%Zn), 21 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by E. E. Lindauer (1869-1942).
Catalog reference: F.139/3, KM 881.1.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
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