5 Sous of the Directory

The 5 Sous coins of the Directory were struck using copper planchets that often came from recycled sources, like melted-down bells or foreign coins, due to the acute metal shortages of the French Revolution.

That improvisation meant variations in weight and quality, with some pieces weighing as little as 8 grams instead of the intended 10. Minted between 1795 and 1799 at facilities in Paris and a few provincial towns, these copper coins bore the new republican motto and the revolutionary calendar dates, such as Year IV for 1795-96. The obverse typically showed a wreath or a liberty cap, symbols meant to distance the regime from the old monarchy.

We don't know the exact mintage figures; records from that era are spotty, likely lost in later upheavals. What we do know is that these coins saw heavy circulation, wearing down quickly in the pockets of soldiers and citizens alike. A dry observation: In numismatics, as in politics, not everything holds up under scrutiny.