France 1897-A 2 centimes

from the Mountain Groan Collection

The specimen shown is a two centimes, Cérès head, of a type struck under the Third Republic of France 1877-97. The majority, including this one, are Paris mint issues but Bordeaux produced this type in 1878. There are 23 dates in the series, none rare. The 1897-A is common. The total production for the series is about ten million, compared to 58 million Napoleon III "bare head" 2 centimes (1853-57) and 33 million "laureate head" 2 centimes (1861-62). The Cérès head was replaced by the "Marianne" head designed by Daniel-Dupuis (struck 1898-1920). All the bronze two centimes pieces were demonetized in 1940.

Recorded mintage: 1,250,000^[1].

Specification: 2 g, bronze, 20 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by Eugéne-André Oudiné (1810-1887).

Catalog reference: F.109/23, Gad-105, KM 827.1.

Source:

• ^[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.

Link to:

• 1896-A 2 centimes
• 1897-A centime
• Italy 1897-R 2 centesimi
• 1897-A 5 centimes
• 1897-A 10 centimes
• 1897 50 centimes
• 1897-A 20 francs
• 1898 2 centimes
• Coins and currency dated 1897