Posted 07/07/2021 7:15 pm
David - the 1974-1987 French 10-franc coins are just like the UK pound coins: the edge inscription was applied to the blanks before striking, so its orientation is completely random. I was studying in France when these coins started circulating and there were rumours at the time that coins with the inscription one way up were forgeries or errors: these were quashed by an official announcement by the Monnaie de Paris explaining how the coins were struck.
I've lived for a period in both France and Spain, and I've found that collectors in both countries often save an example of 'obverse up' and 'reverse up' for any coin with an incuse edge inscription, whereas British collectors generally do not. I personally don't save both: after all, since the inscription can start in any position in relation to a specific detail on the obverse or reverse, the number of variations for each coin is infinite!
I've lived for a period in both France and Spain, and I've found that collectors in both countries often save an example of 'obverse up' and 'reverse up' for any coin with an incuse edge inscription, whereas British collectors generally do not. I personally don't save both: after all, since the inscription can start in any position in relation to a specific detail on the obverse or reverse, the number of variations for each coin is infinite!
