NGC - Coin of the Day: On this day in 1917, French fighter ace Georges Guynemer failed to return from a combat mission during World War I. The French war hero is celebrated on this 1997 Essai 2 Francs from the Lariviere Collection.

Period: Fifth Republic (1958-date)
Type: Circulating commemorative coin
Year: 1997
Value: 2 Francs (2 FRF)
Currency: New franc (1960-2001)
Composition: Nickel
Weight: 7.5 g
Diameter: 26.5 mm
Thickness: 1.8 mm
Shape: Round
Orientation: Coin alignment
Obverse: 3/4 portrait of Georges Guynemer, hero of the French Air Force during WWI, surrounded by legend. Date below.
Lettering: GEORGES GUYNEMER 1894-1917, RF, 1997
Engraver: Atelier de gravure
Reverse: In an octagon , a stork , below the face value , flies over the motto " LIBERTe - EQUALITe - FRATERNITe " . The stork was the pattern painted on "Le Vieux Charles", Guynemer's SPAD III.
Lettering: 2 F, LIBERTe·eGALITe·FRATERNITe
Engraver: Atelier de gravure
Edge: Milled
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