France 1922 50 centimes

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This specimen is a common date of a series struck in France 1921-29 after World War One. It superseded a silver fifty centimes struck 1897-1920. This coin is very common in circulated condition but hard to find choice. The "Chambres de Commerce" also appeared on contemporary two and one franc coins. Altho issued by the Paris mint, technically this type is not a coin but a token issued by the national Chamber of Commerce, not the government. This enabled the politicians to postpone acknowledging the obvious, that the inflation of World War One had reduced the value of the franc to one-fifth of its former level and there was no going back. Finally, president Poincaré officially devalued the franc and ordered the issue of new coin types. The dates 1921-28 are common and 1928 is rare.

Recorded mintage: 86,225,994^[1].

Specification: 2 g, aluminum-bronze, 18 mm diameter, plain edge.

Catalog reference: F.191/4, KM 884.

Source:

• 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.

Link to:

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