Now I'm going to repeat myself. In my previous article, I wrote about French states, kingdoms, empires, and republics. Before that, I wrote about the Latin Monetary Union.
Today, I am presenting a typical coin that belongs to both of these categories. A gold twenty-franc coin from the period of the so-called Third Republic.
The twenty-franc coin weighed approximately 6.45 g, 90% pure gold, 5.81 g of fine gold. It had a diameter of 21 mm and a thickness of approximately 1.3 mm.
What makes this coin unique? The reverse side of the coin depicts a rooster.
The rooster, in Latin Gallus Gallus Domesticus, is one of the symbols of France. France lies on the territory of ancient Gaul. The name Gallus is a kind of speaking symbol.
The first roosters crowed at us from French coins as early as 1792. But they only became fully established during the Third Republic.
On the obverse of the coin, we see Marianne, the symbol of France and the French Revolution.
A similar figure, or just a head, can also be seen on coins from around the world. But on those coins, the figure depicted is Liberté, liberty. That is a universal symbol.
The figure of Liberté is usually depicted wearing a Phrygian cap, carrying a spear and fasces (a bundle of rods), and sometimes rays. The inscription LIBERTÉ – LIBERTY is often incorporated in some way. After all, you can all imagine an American Eagle coin.
And now I'm repeating myself again. I already showed this side of the coin last time. It's a gold twenty-franc french coin from the Second Republic period. Neither Marianne nor Liberté are depicted on it. This is Ceres.
Ceres was the Roman goddess of harvest and grain. Later, she was associated with the Greek goddess Demeter. She was a very important goddess. She guaranteed and symbolized prosperity. Her typical attribute was a wreath of ears of corn.
The Second French Republic was a peculiar period. It was a three-year transition between two types of monarchy, between a kingdom and an empire. Figures such as Marianne or Liberté seemed too revolutionary at that time.
But still, there was a republic. At least the fasces, a bundle of rods, remained on the coin.
Thank you for reading this article. I used Deepl.com to translate it from Czech. All coins and their photographs are my property.
I am interested in coins not only as pieces of precious metal, but also as historical sources that speak to me.
The moment I finish writing one article about coins, I immediately think about what I will write about next. Next time, I will leave France. But I will not go too far.
I wish everyone a pleasant rest of the week. I will be back on Wednesday.
By the way, in my country, every year is declared "Dry February." This means that all possible authorities call on citizens to abstain from alcohol. This is reflected in alcohol consumption statistics. Is there anything like this in your countries?