France 1948 5 francs

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This specimen is a fairly common date of a type struck at the Paris mint 1945-52 under the Fourth Republic (1946-59). The inflation triggered by the devastation wreaked by World War Two continued thru the 1950's, forcing the regime to strike coins in ever higher denominations. This type was not demonetized until 1966, by which time it was worthless. Even so, 163 metric tons of aluminum were consumed making this coin in 1949. This date comes with open "9's" (common) and closed "9's" (rare) in the date.

Recorded mintage: 46,575,600.

Specification: 3.5 g, aluminum, 31 mm diameter, designed by André-Henri Lavrillier (1885-1958).

Catalog reference: F.339/13, KM 888b.1.

Source:

• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2011, 20me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2011.
• Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.

Link to:

• 1947 aluminum 5 francs
• 1948 franc
• 1948 2 francs
• 1948 10 francs
• 1949 5 francs
• Coins and currency dated 1948