Prancūzų auksinė moneta 10 frankų „Mariana ir Gaidys“

Istorija

Ant Prancūzijos 10 frankų aukso monetos pavaizduota Mariana.
Kai 1898 m. buvo įvestos 10 frankų „Marianos“ monetos, jos pratęsė Prancūzijos Respublikos pinigų tradiciją, kai ant apyvartoje esančių auksinių frankų buvo vaizduojamas ne karaliaus ar imperatoriaus atvaizdas, o Prancūzijos pergalės, laisvės bei teisingumo simboliai. Žinomiausi ir labiausiai paplitę šiuos principus vaizduojantys Prancūzijos simboliai yra gaidys ir Mariana.

10 frankų aukso monetos reverso pusėje vaizduojamas gaidys yra su pergale siejamas Prancūzijos krikščionybės simbolis. Gaidžio giedojimas tekant saulei yra laikomas kasdiene šviesos pergale prieš tamsą ir blogį. Gaidys tapo svarbiu simboliu Prancūzijos Renesanso laikotarpiu, kai katalikų bažnyčia vaidino lemiamą vaidmenį Prancūzijos valstybės reikaluose. Šiais laikais gaidys yra laikomas neoficialiu Prancūzijos simboliu ir dažniausiai naudojamas kaip nacionalinis talismanas sporto renginiuose.

10 frankų aukso monetos averso pusėje pavaizduotas Marianos atvaizdas yra alegorinių personifikacijų, laisvės ir teisingumo, derinys. Pirmą kartą Marianą nutapė jaunas prancūzų tapytojas 1775 m., tačiau ji išpopuliarėjo po Prancūzijos revoliucijos, kai naujai išrinktai asamblėjai reikėjo naujo simbolio Pirmajai Prancūzijos Respublikai. Jaunosios Marianos atvaizdas pasirinktas siekiant pavaizduoti jauną, bet ryžtingą naująją Prancūziją. Šiandien Mariana yra Prancūzijos nacionalinis simbolis, vaizduojamas ant Prancūzijos euro monetų, antspaudų bei oficialių vyriausybės logotipų. Ji yra tvirtas Respublikos simbolis, siejamas su laisvės triumfu prieš absoliučią valdžią.

The origin of the French gold franc

The fascinating history of the gold francbegan in the 14th century during the Hundred Years’ War. This was the time of a series of waged conflicts between France and Britain, and during the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, in France, the French King John II was captured by his English foes. The English sought a ransom for the French king, three million gold coins to be exact. Once the terms were agreed upon, King John was released, and his return from captivity was glorified with the introduction of a gold coin called the franc à cheval, meaning “free on horse”, alluding to how the King rode out as a free man. Although the new gold franc was there after used in trade throughout France, its uniformity was often subject to revaluation. This changed when Napoleon Bonaparte came to power at the beginning of the 1800s.


Uniform French gold francs were authorised by Napoleon Bonaparte

Considered one of the world’s foremost military leaders, Napoleon Bonaparte, highly skilled in politics, managed during the end of the French revolution to assert himself as First Consul of the new French government. A staunch proponent of gold, he authorised the standardisation and creation of the Napoleon gold coin in 1803. The new coin carried his effigy and was originally minted in two denominations, 20 and 40 francs. Denominations of 5, 10, 50 and 100 francs were later introduced and minted at various times, but the most popular and consequently most minted was the 20 franc gold coin. The first 10 franc gold coin was introduced in 1850, weighing 3.225 grams and containing 90% gold, or 2.902 grams of gold.
The 10 franc gold coin was last issued in 1914, and although the design and the depicted effigy changed during this period, the coin’s denomination and uniformity stayed the same, contributing to the coin’s reputation and popularity as a trustworthy and accurate gold coin. Consequently, all 10 franc gold coins minted in the 19th and 20th centuries are referred to as “Napoleons”.


The French 10 franc coin - the gold standard of Europe

Ironically, the gold francs were more successful in unifying Europe in terms of coinage, and consequently trade and prosperity, than what Napoleon sought to accomplish by force. And while the territories Napoleon had conquered were soon lost, the gold francs did just the opposite. They prevailed and established themselvesas the foundation of Europe’s first major currency union under the name “Latin Monetary Union”. The Union was originally formed in 1865 between France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland, and was an attempt to unify those countries’money into a uniform single currency. The French gold franc’s peerless uniformity and the attractiveness of the relatively large French economy provided the incentive and the foundation for a new “euro” currency.

The founding members of the union adopted the franc and they agreed to freely interchange each other’s gold and silver coinage at parity, irrespective of whether they carried another design or motif. The ratio of the two precious metals was likewise standardised, with 4.5 grams of silver being equal to .290322 grams of gold, a ratio of 15.5 to 1. The standardisation facilitated and simplified trade among the member countries and was seen as an appealing concept, leading other European countries to join as well. Although the union came with numerous flaws, one of them being that individual governments over-issued paper notes above the stipulated fixed ratio that was set between paper notes and circulating precious metal coinage, they were all the consequence of poor human judgement rather than the failure of the uniform precious metal coinage itself. Nevertheless, the union expanded until the advent of World War I, and came to a formal end a decade later in 1927.


The popularity of French 10 franc gold coins lives on

Napoleon gold coins were widely distributed during the 19th and 20th centuries in Europe and throughout the world. France controlled a large part of Europe in the early 1800s and subsequently rose to its colonial might in the early 20th century. To facilitate trade and investments, French gold francs became the preferred choice due to their stable uniformity and trustworthiness. The 10 franc gold coins were regularly issued from the 1850s to 1914. The mintage was discontinued with the advent of WWI, and although they are no longer produced, their popularity lives on, and they are in fact today the most traded classic gold coins in several European countries, including France.