50 Centimes of Philippe Pétain

The 50 Centimes coin from Vichy France was minted in zinc, a hasty substitute for copper and nickel amid wartime scrap drives.

That meant planchets often came from whatever metal was at hand, including recycled industrial waste, leading to coins that felt lightweight and prone to corrosion. Production ran from 1941 to 1944 at the Paris mint, under German oversight, with Pétain's profile on the obverse—a design that screamed propaganda more than artistry.

We don't know the exact mintage figures; records from that era are spotty, likely destroyed or lost in postwar chaos. As for myths, I've heard tales of these coins being hoarded as symbols of resistance, but that's nonsense—they were just currency in a puppet state.

Some collectors prize the 1943 variant for its crisper strike, but that's about as exciting as it gets.