How Far Back Can We Go? Sixth Edition! Ended At 1380 Waiting On 1379

1798/7 -- United States, 10 cents:

Great coins from everyone! Hugely impressive American silver!

It is now 1798 and we are less than a decade away from the French revolution of 1789. Among the things changed by that event was the monetary system, which was thoroughly reformed. The path from the pre-revolutionary livre-sous-denier system to the franc was, however, neither straight nor without bumps. I will showcase a few "revolutionary" coins in the coming days

Here is the first! From year 6 in the revolutionary calendar, that is, 22 Sep 1797-21 Sep 1798. It is the time of the Directory, the phase of the 1st French republic that followed on the Convention (with Robespierre and the Reign of Terror) in 1795 and ended in 1799 with Napoleon's coup and the Consulate. Even though the revolution's bloodiest days are over, it is a time of turmoil with wars on multiple fronts, internal unrest, inflation and general shortage.

France an 6 (1797-98), 5 francs, Perpignan (Q).



This 25 gram piece is the only silver coin in the franc system until 1803. There was a lack of silver due to the costly wars and to some extent the nobility having fled the country together with whatever they could bring. The obverse shows Hercules with Liberty and Equality. The inscription UNION ET FORCE means Unity and Strength. This design, with a different inscription but otherwise minor changes, returns on coins in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries!

Now for the second coin: 1 centime, this the smallest of denominations in the franc system, appeared this year. It lagged behind the 5, 10 and 20 c coppers as well as the 5 francs, all being minted from year 4. The obverse shows Marianne, the symbol of the Republic.

France an 6, 1 centime, Paris (A).

Here is a Large cent dated 1798:

1798 Large Cent (2nd hair style)

@erafjel the French coinage of the era is tremendously interesting and you have some very nice examples!

The French coinage of the era combined aesthetically pleasing designs with a highly variable quality of production, so there are large numbers of overdates, recuts/repunches, and other die varieties to keep one busy for years.

In the late 18th c. and early 19th c. the French led the way in modern minting and engraving techniques and also had some of the finest numismatic and medallic artists in Europe, and trained some of the most artistically creative and successful sculptors and engravers in the world.

England had no real artistic and technical equal for its circulating coinage until Matthew Boulton and the Soho mint, and Heaton's mint in Birmingham 50 years later (which was founded using the presses, die engraving equipment, and planchet cutters from Soho.)

The research and inventions of the Frenchmen Contamin and later Janvier led to huge leaps forward in the design and minting of coins here in the US and worldwide.

Here is my own little 1798-99 (L'an 7) Directory centime, also a Paris mint (A) coin, the only mint which struck the 1-centime coins for that year.

It is difficult to look at Dupre's bust on the obverse and not see an eerie reflection in John Reich's Bust coinage series 15 years later; such was the influence of the French motifs and their symbolism in the young United States.

Note that by this time the legend had stabilized to "(la) Republique Francaise", replacing the Royalist "(le) Roi des Francois" and its intermediate "Republique Francoise" used previously.

US 1798 Large Cent. I would appreciate a Sheldon attribution if anyone can identify it.

1797 -- Polish Partition / Province of South Prussia -- 3 grossus:

1797 -- United States, 1 cent: