Tag: France
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1943 Cameroon 50 Centimes
A WWII African coin showing support for the exiled Free France government. French Cameroon What became Cameroon was originally claimed by Germany as “Kamerun” in the “Scramble for Africa” of the late 19th century. Soon after WWI was declared, French and British troops poured into the country. The dense equatorial rainforest was as much an…
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1943 Vichy France 2 Francs
A coin symbolic of a dark period in France World War II In May and June 1940, Nazi Germany invaded and captured not only France, but Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium. In June 1940, unwilling to surrender, Paul Reynaud resigned as Prime Minister to be replaced by Philippe Pétain. On 22nd June, France signed an…
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St. Eloi, Patron du Materiel medallion
St. Eloi is patron to more than numismatics Patron Saint I have written several pieces on Saint Eloi (Saint Eligius) as the Patron Saint of Numismatics. Saint Eloi is also revered as the patron of several other groups and professions. Today’s piece explores some of those. NewmanMinistry records St Eligius as Patron Saint of: That…
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Bussoz Distributeurs Automatiques
An early French arcade token The token This token is very decorative, with a lot of pretty design and nice font. This helps reinforce the romantic notion I already had of Paris in the early 1900s: Sitting in a cafe, eating pastries, relaxing and generally looking like a Monet painting. I’ve written about it previously…
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Liard of Frederik Henry, Prince of Orange, France 1625-47
A coin which isn’t what it first seems Mystery Coin Each fortnight, I include a photo of a coin in the newsletter, and ask people to guess what it is. When I shared this coin, I expected it would stump people, but it was ok, because I did in fact know what it was. Only,…
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1989 Eiffel Tower 5 Francs
The only circulating coin to feature this iconic landmark If you go to Numista and search for Eiffel Tower, it returns 99 coins. If you asked me to pick some of the most stunning, I would probably (you know, off the top of my head) suggest: These are all beautiful coins, and from a range…
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SNCF TGV Medallion
One of the pin-up “supertrains” from my youth Ok, excuse me while I take a high-speed trip down memory lane tonight. I had a book featuring the French TGV train as a youngster, and it’s always been one of those dream trains for me. TGV stands for Train à Grande Vitesse, which translates as “High…
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Tunisia 100 Francs 1950 / 1370
Here is a coin with a number of interesting elements: Most sources I have found, describe the obverse as “Dates within crescent below design”. Initially, my comment here was that I think it’s great to have a coin with just a “design” on it, something pretty to look at. Ahmed on social media got me…
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Mother Teresa canonisation medallion
At 18, Mother Teresa moved to Ireland and the India, where she lived most of her life. On 4 September 2016, she was canonised by the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. The anniversary of her death, 5 September, is her feast day. The Missionaries of Charity manages homes for people who are dying…
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1657 Liard de France
There are Facebook groups and email lists for people who like to collect one coin from every country (OFEC). One thing I idly try to do when I see pieces come up cheaply, is “one from every year”. I enjoy adding a coin from a year I didn’t have before. For the 1600s and 1700s,…
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Café Copin 12 1/2c Billiard token
Tokens come in a wide variety of shapes, styles and denominations (values). Tokens also give you a small insight into an area or business that you don’t necessarily get from coins. This piece is a great example of all of that. The shape of the token is interesting. I describe it as square with rounded…
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Saint Eligius Medallion
Here is my first medallion of Saint Eligius (which is also featured on my Saint Eligius page). The medallion features Saint Eligius working at his desk with coins. The desk is adorned with a Byzantine style cross. The other side shows a representation of one of the coins engraved by Eligius during his time as…