Essai 2 Francs 1879

This 1879 essai 2 Francs was struck in Paris as a trial for the Third Republic's new coinage designs, using a copper-nickel alloy that mimicked the intended circulating pieces.

That alloy choice reflected ongoing experiments to reduce costs after the Franco-Prussian War's economic strain. The obverse featured a laureate head of the Republic, while the reverse showed the denomination within a wreath—standard elements, but with finer details that never made it to production. We don't know the exact number produced; records from the Paris Mint are spotty for essais of that era.

One curiosity is how these trials often ended up in private hands, perhaps through mint employees with light fingers. As for values, they fluctuate based on condition, but that's a conversation for another day.