France 1917 franc

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This coin was struck at Paris during the French Third Republic (1870-1940). It is a common date of a type struck 1898-1920. It is struck without mintmark and is the last type of franc to be struck in silver. Like all francs struck after 1866, the fineness was only .835. It was demonetized in 2005 but ceased to circulate in the 1920's.

The catalog^[1] notes 26 dates for the type, the dates 1900, 1903 and 1914-C are rare. Matte proofs were struck in 1898 and 1900; these are expensive. This date is part of the massive issues of World War I (1915-20).

Recorded mintage: 57,153,034^[1].

Specification: 5 g, 0.835 fine silver, 23 mm diameter, reeded edge. It was designed by Oscar Roty, 1846-1911. La Semeuse, or Sower, was so popular that the design was revived for the franc of the Fifth Republic, struck in nickel 1959-2001.

Catalog reference: F.217/23, KM 844.1.

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:

• 1916 franc
• 1917 5 centimes, bronze
• 1917 bronze 10 centimes
• 1917 copper-nickel 10 centimes
• 1917 25 centimes, struck in nickel
• 1917 25 centimes, struck in copper-nickel
• 1917 50 centimes
• 1917 2 francs
• 1918 franc
• Coins and currency dated 1917