Old French coin. Ancient French coin. Latest auction prices for coins in Russian rubles

The historical features of the formation of this state significantly influenced the history of the development of metallic money. Until the middle of the 14th century, the country did not have its own currency. Moreover, the monetary system was based on the circulation of denarii, that is, Roman banknotes made of gold.

After the fall of Rome, which happened in the 5th century, Roman metal money gradually went out of circulation due to damage and abrasion. From now on, the minting of its own products began on French territory. At first, the ancient coin of France was minted from silver, then from gold. After the monetary reform carried out by Charlemagne, counting monetary units appeared.

Medieval coins of France

For the first time, a generally accepted state currency was introduced before the start of the Hundred Years' War (1360). These were Franks - the ancient coin of France was minted from gold with the image of the king. Since the king was depicted on horseback, the products were popularly called “horse” francs. When King Charles V began to be depicted in full size, the examples were called “foot” Franks.

The French medieval franc coin made of gold was issued until the middle of the 15th century, and under Louis XI it was replaced by gold ecus. During the years 1575-1586, silver francs weighing 14.188 grams were issued. Meanwhile, aristocrats began minting their own money. In the territories subject to England, Anglo-Gallic banknotes appeared.

Coins of the 17th-19th centuries

In the middle of the 17th century, silver ecus temporarily occupied a leading position in the country's monetary circulation. Later, the gold ecus coin system was replaced by a decimal system, with one old French franc coin equaling ten decimes. A five-gram banknote with a face value of one franc contained 4.5 grams of pure silver. ½ and ¼, 1, 2 and 5 francs were issued, and later they were supplemented by gold items:

• 5 francs
• 10 francs
• 20 francs
• 40 francs
• 50 francs
• 100 francs.

Under the First Republic in 1795, a national currency was officially approved - it was the old coin of France, the franc.

Throughout almost the entire 19th century, bimetallism existed in the country. The law provided for the free coinage of silver and gold money, recognized as the main means of payment.

French gold and silver coins

In 1800, by order of Napoleon, the French Bank was created, which received exclusive rights to issue money. But after 65 years, they signed the Paris Convention, as a result of which the Latin Union was formed, which united the monetary systems of such countries:

• France
• Belgium
• Switzerland
• Italy
• later Finland and Greece.

The basis for the creation of the Union was the recognition of the French franc as the cost standard for the minting of silver banknotes of the same denomination and mass by all participating countries.

Gold and silver money were subject to free circulation on a legal basis as the main means of payment in all countries of the Latin Union. Moreover, in each state the monetary unit had its own name, but maintained equal parity.

It is possible that rare French coins are waiting for you in our catalog right now!

The historical features of the formation of France as a state had a significant impact on the history of the development of French money and coins. Until the middle of the 14th century, France did not have its own monetary unit, and the monetary system was based on the circulation of denarii - Roman gold coins.

Ancient French coins: history of origin

After the fall of Rome in the 5th century. and the formation of the Frankish state, Roman coins gradually went out of circulation due to damage and erasure, and on the territory of France their own French coins began to be minted: first silver, and soon gold.

After the monetary reform of Charlemagne, countable monetary units appeared in France.

For large sums the money was counted in livres, sous and denarii. The Frankish kings sought to centralize coinage.

Gradually, the royal coinage fell into decay, and the appanage kings switched to issuing each their own coins.

Medieval coins of France

The first generally accepted state currency appeared at the beginning of the Hundred Years' War (1360). These were francs - gold coins with the image of the king and the Latin inscription FRANCORUM REX (from Latin king of the Franks).

The king was depicted on horseback on the coin, which is why it was popularly called the “horse” franc. When King Charles V began minting a coin with a full-length image of the king, it became known as the “foot” franc.

The gold franc was issued until the middle of the 15th century, and during the reign of Louis XI it was replaced by the gold ecu.

In 1575-1586, a silver franc weighing 14.188 g began to be produced. The minting of francs from 833-carat silver continued until 1642.

The issue of coins was carried out and controlled by the cities of medieval France. At the same time, aristocrats began minting their own coins. In the territories subject to England, so-called Anglo-Gallic coins appeared.

Coins of the 17th - 19th centuries

In the middle of the 17th century, the silver ecus temporarily took a leading position in the monetary circulation of France. Later, the coinage system "golden ecu" was decimalized, when 1 franc was equal to 10 decimes (or 100 centimes). The five gram 1 franc coin contained 4.5 grams of pure silver. Coins were issued in denominations of 5 francs, 2 francs, 1 franc, ½ and ¼ francs, which were later supplemented by gold coins in denominations of 100, 50, 40, 20, 10 and 5 francs.

During the First Republic, the Law of August 15, 1795 established the national currency - the franc.

Bimetallism existed in France throughout almost the entire 19th century. The law provided for the free minting of gold and silver coins having the force of the main means of payment. The value ratio of silver and gold is accepted as 1: 15.5, respectively.

At the same time, paper francs began to be printed, which depreciated in value within three years, and hard currency was finally approved at the state level.

French gold and silver coins

In 1800, by order of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Bank of France was created, which had the exclusive right to issue money. After 65 years, the Paris Convention was signed, as a result of which the Latin Union was formed, uniting the monetary systems of France, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, and later Greece and Finland.

The basis for the creation of the Union was the recognition of the French franc as the cost standard for the minting of silver coins of the same mass and denomination by all participating countries. The monetary units of the countries of the Latin Union were characterized by the same metal content, which amounted to 0.29 g of pure gold and 4.5 g of silver.

Silver and gold coins were legally subject to free circulation as the main means of payment in the territory of all countries included in the Latin Union. At the same time, the monetary units of each country had their own name, but maintained equal parity. Thus, 1 French franc was equal to 1 Belgian franc and 1 Swiss franc.

Excessive issuance of paper money in France and Italy provoked instability in the Union. There was a sharp decline in the market value of silver, and soon, when exchanging depreciated silver coins, participating countries suffered losses of gold.

The minting of silver coins was stopped, and from 1873 to 1926 the Latin Union existed in the regime of gold monometallism. During the First World War and the post-war period, changes occurred in the monetary policy of the participating countries of the Latin Union, which led to the collapse of the Union and the transition to a new stage of development of the monetary system directly in France.

During the war, gold coins were replaced by banknotes to finance government military expenditures. The stabilization of the franc occurred only in 1926 after the monetary reform, the essence of which was the exchange of banknotes for gold bullion at par.

In 1928, France switched to the gold bullion standard, which lasted until 1936.

During the Second World War, there was an increase in the issue of banknotes, the devaluation and redenomination of the franc. From now on, the new franc received 0.18 g of pure gold and was equal to 100 old ones.

Modern coins of France

The post-war period in France was characterized by numerous attempts to “recover” the economy to reduce inflation, which ultimately led to the emergence and development of a paper-credit monetary system.

The modern monetary system of France has gone through two stages of its development.

1. Circulation of the franc (until 2002).

During this period, money was issued by: the Central Bank of France, some financial institutions, and the Ministry of Finance. Responsibility for implementing a unified monetary policy was assigned to the Central Bank of France.

There is a decrease in the number of banknotes and small change in circulation and a simultaneous increase in demand deposits on current accounts and credit cards.

2. Transition to a single currency - the euro.

Since January 2002, the French franc has been withdrawn from circulation. A single European currency, the euro, appears.

Currently, France is a member of the European Economic Community and actively participates in all reforms.

The only legal tender is the euro.

Marianne - a symbol of free France - VIDEO

Marianne- national symbol of France since 1972. Depicted as a young woman wearing a Phrygian cap. She is the personification of the French national motto “Liberty, equality, fraternity”. Sculptural images of Marianna are a mandatory attribute of government agencies, courts, municipalities, and so on. Before the introduction of the euro, images of Marianne were placed on centimes and francs; currently they can be seen on eurocents (1, 2, 5) of French coinage.

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French coins today are monetary units that have a high degree of protection against counterfeiting. Currently they are called Euros, but they are somewhat faceless. But the ancient banknotes had a memorable appearance and a variety of names. We'll talk about them.

First French coins

The French coin owes its appearance to the Roman one, which appeared in the country approximately in the 5th-6th centuries. At this time, an intensive influx of banknotes began in France. To make the first of them, pure gold was used, but after some time it became clear that the precious metal without any impurities quickly becomes soft and wears off. Therefore, silver and, in some cases, copper were added to issued coins, making banknotes stronger and more reliable.

Medieval French coins

The beginning of the Hundred Years' War was marked by the appearance of the first generally accepted state currency - the franc. The French gold coin bore the image of the king and the Latin inscription FRANCORUM REX (meaning "king of the Franks"). The king was depicted on this coin riding a horse, which is why it began to be popularly called the “horse” franc. But when the image was changed to a king standing at full height, the coin became a “foot franc.”

The gold franc was issued in France only until the middle of the 15th century, and when Louis XI came to power, the coin was replaced by the gold ecu. Already in 1575-1586, the silver franc began to be minted. Its weight was 14.188 g, and the silver from which it was produced was 833 samples.

Such coins were in use until 1642. The issue of banknotes at that time was controlled by French cities. Aristocrats at the same time decided to issue their own coins. And thus, Anglo-Gallic Franks began to appear in the territory controlled by England.

Golden XVII-XVIII centuries.

French coins began to be produced in high quality gold in the 17th century. They were called louis d'or. This ancient French coin first appeared during the reign of King Louis XIII.

Luidor became the main currency. There were many of these banknotes, and they all differed in size, weight and diameter. Most of them weighed 4-6 g. But there was also a record gold coin that weighed about 10 g. The obverse of the louis d'or was decorated with the image of the king.

They were minted until the very beginning of the French Revolution and until the moment when the franc became the main coin for payment.

When Napoleon I came to power, Napoleondor appeared. Its denomination was 20 francs. Collectors divide the gold Napoleon into the following types:

• Emperor Napoleon;
• First Consul Napoleon;
• coins “with a wreath”;
• coins “without a wreath”;
• with the year of manufacture indicated by numbers;
• with the year of minting indicated by letters.

Even after the emperor was overthrown and the monarchy was restored, the production of Napoleons continued. The obverse of the gold coins featured royal profiles and the reverse featured the royal coat of arms.

The last of the monarchs under whom Napoleons were minted was King Louis Philippe I.

During the prosperity of the Second Republic, a gold coin with a face value of 20 francs gained enormous popularity. And they called her “Angel”. At the end of the 18th century, it was released in the first edition to replace the old louis d'or. The obverse here depicted an angel writing down the French Constitution.

At the same time, a 20-franc gold coin was minted for the first time. It depicted the goddess of fertility and harvest, Ceres. This banknote was issued in only three editions.

Cost of French gold coins

Very valuable for collectors. They are minted from high quality precious metal and can cost tens of thousands of rubles, and some of them - hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And the main component of the value of ancient gold and silver French coins among numismatists is the quantity in which they were issued and in what condition they are.

One of the most coveted trophies of any numismatist is an antique French gold coin. After all, France is a country rich in historical events, on the way of which there have been many uprisings and coups. And such changes are often accompanied by monetary reforms, so there is no need to doubt the variety of coins.

Medieval gold French Francs and Louisdores

The first French gold coin is the franc. It depicted the king and the signature that read FRANCORUM REX (from Latin king of the Franks). Because of the design, it was nicknamed the "Equestrian Frank" by the community because the king was depicted sitting astride a horse. A little later, the “foot franc” also appeared in circulation.

One of the most famous French gold coins is the louis d'or. If the name is translated literally, it means “Golden Louis”. They were first minted at the court of Louis 13th, namely in 1640. They contained about 7 grams of pure gold. The front side was always decorated with a chest-length portrait of the king, and on the reverse side the images changed several times: a cross consisting of 8 letters L; scepter and lily, etc. This ancient French gold coin was equal to 24 livres. It continued to be issued for more than 150 years, until Louis 16 ascended the throne. Issued during the revolution, it was unique: on the obverse there was a portrait of the monarch, and the inscription on the reverse read: “The fourth year of freedom.” After the execution of the king, revolutionary symbols took the place of his image.

Napoleondor and Ecu

In the 19th century, France began to issue a precious coin worth 20 francs, which was called Napoleondor, which translates as “Golden Napoleon.”

By the way: At the time of its release, Napoleon Bonaparte still had the title of first consul, not ruler.

Initially, Napoleon was depicted on the front side with his head uncovered, and after his coronation his profile was decorated with a laurel wreath.

After Bonaparte was overthrown, all coins with a denomination of 20 francs began to be called Napoleons. They depicted monarchs; during the Second Empire, Napoleon was decorated with the profile of Napoleon III, and during the Third Revolution - with the genius of the revolution.

And only in 1914 the production of Napoleons was suspended.

At the same time as the Napoleondor, the old double Napoleondor, worth 40 tailcoats, coexisted. However, it is not French in the literal sense, since it was produced in Italy at a time when it was part of the Napoleonic Empire.

Another popular ancient French gold coin in the Middle Ages is the ecu, whose name translates as “rectangular shield.” This French coin was decorated with an image of a heraldic shield - a symbol of the united kingdom. The ecu was minted from metal of the highest standard (958); it weighed just over 3 grams.

Medieval feudal countries did not have direct access to the mines, which is why gold was not used in the French mint for so long. And only with the development of trade relations with the countries of the Middle East in the 13th century, the most valuable Ecu, Francs, Louisdores and Napoleondors appeared in circulation.

We have already talked about the franc, which served as the main monetary unit of the French Republic before its transition to a single European currency, in one of our articles. Therefore, now we will capture on the route of our review several other names that managed to remain on the pages of the history of French coinage.

Ecu

The etymology of several coins from various countries of medieval Europe scattered from a single point. Here is the escudo of Portugal, and at the same time of Spain, here is the meager amount of Italy. The softness of the French dialect forced the original word to form a short “ecu”. But the ancestor was “scutum” in Latin, which meant the fighting word “shield”. The shield was featured on coins, which is why they began to be named after them.

If we talk about France, then the beginning of the ecu’s path dates back to 1266, when Louis the Ninth, who bore the nickname “The Saint,” reigned. That time can well be called the “golden age” for this coin, because it was minted from gold. Why did a shield appear on the coin? It turns out that it symbolized the united kingdom. The diameter of the ecu was only a millimeter shy of two and a half centimeters, and the weight was close to four grams.

As if not believing in his own existence, the ecu took a long break, reappearing at the court of Philip the Sixth. The period of absence had a beneficial effect on the ECU. The second issue showed us a coin that had gained weight (more than four and a half grams of precious metal). Regular minting of this monetary unit began.

When talking about the names of French coins, it is worth recalling that many of them end in “dor” (how can one not think of Napoleondor). This is no coincidence, because “d”or” in translation means “gold.” So different variations of the equus received their own names: For example, “chaise d”or - ecu with a throne) or “couronne d”or - ecu with a crown). We can get an interesting graph if we plot the chronology along the X axis, and mark the weight of the ecu along the Y axis. First, our curve will go up, passing the value “5.44”, and then it will begin to decrease, reaching. marks of exactly four grams in 1385. Subsequently, the weight of the ecus decreased by another half a gram, finding correspondence with the florins and ducats then in circulation.

During the time of Louis Eleventh “the Prudent”, other types of ecus were replaced by a coin with a long name “ecu with the image of the sun above the crown”. During the same period, the ecu was embodied in a double version (double ecu) and halved (half-ecu).

But silver was already knocking on the door. In the era of Francis the First, a silver ecus was minted, making it equal in value to gold. But things didn’t go further than trials. Apparently, those in charge reasonably assumed that people would exchange gold for silver only under the threat of the death penalty. Henry the Third also swung to switch to silver, but only silver quarters and octahs were implemented. A quarter ecus of Louis the Thirteenth is shown below.

The golden age ended for this coin with the advent of the louis d'or, which replaced the ecus in the series of silver (at that time it was 917). Kings changed, and coins were minted and minted. The final line was summed up by the decimal system adopted in 1795, where the franc was taken as the basis. The word continued to appear in conversations, becoming synonymous with five-francs. So in the period of the late USSR, citizens called a crisp ten-ruble banknote “chervonets”.

The Ecu currency was almost resurrected in the second half of the twentieth century. But we are not talking about the shield here. Here is an abbreviation from the first letters of "European Currency Unit". However, such an ecus never appeared in the form of circulating coins. He left a trace only in collectors' albums in the form of unofficial coins issued by the courts of various European states and not being a means of payment. The introduction of the cashless euro in 1999 finally left the ECU on the already turned pages of history.

Luidor

Those who noticed the ending “dor” guessed that the conversation would again be about gold. Here he is preceded by the royal name "Louis". However, this is not “Louis the Second” from Alla Pugacheva’s song, but an abbreviated name for Louis the Thirteenth, whose reign dates back to 1640, when “Golden Louis” was released. Here, the trendsetter was France's neighbor, Spain, where doubloons, called pistoles in French lands, were in use. So Louis the Thirteenth became concerned, why not saturate the turnover with his own money. The idea was so successful that the name “pistol” was adopted by the people and the louis d’or, who had to fight for their name for a long time. Here we see the 917th sample of gold with a diameter of 26 millimeters and a weight of 6.751 grams. The heyday of louis d'or was accompanied by an increase in their weight, first to 8.158 grams, and then higher. Twenty-one hundredths was not enough for the record-breaking louis to reach the iconic weight of ten grams. The French Revolution brought the final line to the louis d'or when the franc became dominant. The minting of gold coins continued, but this is no longer the story of the Louis Dors, but of the Napoleons.

Agneldor

"Golden Calf" in the flesh. The essence is encrypted in the very name "Anieldor", where the already familiar "gold" (d"or) is preceded by the word "lamb" (agnel), which was sometimes called more roughly "golden ram" (mouton d"or) or more straightforwardly, like the Dutch, "golden lamb" (gouden lam). The names “deniedor”, “agnelet” or “agnelot” will also become synonymous. Louis the Ninth is believed to be the founder of the “golden calves,” but the trouble is: the agneldors from the period of his reign have not survived. But the aneldors of Philip the Fourth “Beautiful” have reached us. Why does Louis appear? Because in the coin ordinance, dated 1310, it says in plain text: “a lamb, which we order to be minted as in the time of St. Louis.”

The golden calf came here for a reason. This is the Passover lamb carrying the banner. Coins with bodies of different diameters and weights are known. Unfortunately for the agneldor, he suffered the usual misfortune of medieval coins: shrinkage in weight and depreciation. Charles the Seventh stopped minting this type of coin. Those were difficult times when the Hundred Years War ended.

Su

A few words about the French trifle called sous. Sou started with silver. However, the copper component in the alloy was increasingly increased, and the coin became a billon, similar to Soviet silver in the first ten years of minting. The transition to the franc took this monetary unit out of circulation. Why is it that in works of art of subsequent years, telling about the life of France, we often come across “a few sous”. The fact is that the sou was equated to a five-centime coin, to which this popular name was assigned. It was passed down from generation to generation, and modern French people used it until the abolition of francs and centimes. So Soviet citizens often called fifteen kopecks “five-altyn”, without thinking about the etymology of this name.

But even the transition to the euro did not eliminate the word “sous” from French speech. And we don't mean the classics of bygone centuries or novels about those bygone times. Su is a small coin. Therefore, today the French use the name coin to mean “change.” After all, most Russians easily replace the concept of “trifle” with the word “grosh” (“use for a penny”, “pay mere pennies”), often without imagining what a very real penny once looked like.

Centime

Let's finish the review with a small change, a hundred of which once amounted to a franc. The French centime lived a fairly long life of two centuries. It appeared in 1797. Then the First Republic was raging in the country. Much that seemed familiar was overthrown, and the void was rapidly filled with new trends. Even the chronology was new. Based on it, the period of minting the first centimes occurred between the sixth and eighth years of the republican calendar. We managed to mint just over a hundred million small change coins.

Afterwards, the centime celebrated its almost half-century anniversary, reappearing during the Second Republic. Years of absence have hardly changed his appearance. But the designation of the year is already familiar to us - four-digit. During the four years of the second coming, almost twenty-three million centimes were minted.

And again a break, albeit a short one, only a year. Since 1853, a portrait of Emperor Napoleon III appears on the obverse, whose head was decorated with a wreath of glory in 1861. Coins with a wreath are issued irregularly. And then comes the third republic. And again, instead of the departed ruler, the coin is decorated with a woman’s head. The material for the blanks is bronze.

During the Fifth Republic, bronze was replaced by steel. The last type of centime is called “Ear”, since it is the image of the ear that is placed on the coin. The centime has been minted in regular issue since 1962 (there are proof coins with the dates "1959", "1960" and "1961"). Inflation overcame the centime, and by the early eighties it became impractical to mint it. However, for sets the mint continued to issue it, without changing the external design. It remained this way until 2002, when it was replaced by the eurocent. It is worth adding that in 2000 and 2001, gold centimes were minted for collectors as a sign of farewell to this coin.

Latest auction prices for coins in Russian rubles

Photo	Description of the coin	G	VG	F	VF	XF	AU	UNC	Proof