fme_569183 - LE PROJET D’AUGUSTIN DUPRÉ MÉDAILLE DE L’ASSOCIATION DES AMIS DU FRANC INCARNANT LE PROJET D’AUGUSTIN DUPRÉ POUR LA PREMIÈRE PIÈCE EN OR DU SYSTÈME DÉCIMAL

LE PROJET D’AUGUSTIN DUPRÉ

If the decree of August 1, 1793 establishes the decimal system, it is that of 18 Germinal Year 3 (April 7, 1795) which replaces the unit of coins "the pound" by "the franc".. A few months later, on Thermidor 28, i.e. August 15, 1795, a new metallic monetary creation was decided.. In addition to two laws on the issuance of coins in purified bronze (copper) and in silver (see their transcriptions in the book "Le Franc, les Monnaies, les Archives" pages 136 & 137), a law also provides for a coin of or: “I. It will be made gold coins. II. The title will be nine parts of this pure metal and one part of alloy. III. The fineness tolerance will be three thousandths outside the fineness fixed by the previous article. IV. Each piece will be in the size of ten grams. V. The tolerance of the weight will be one four-hundredth within and one four-hundredth outside the weight fixed by the preceding article.. VII. These pieces will have as their type the figure of Peace united to Abundance, with the legend; Peace and Abundance. VII. On the reverse will be engraved two intertwined branches, one of oak, the other of olive, with the legend: French Republic. In the center, we will read the weight of the piece. The epigraph will express, in Arabic numerals, the year of the Republican era. Below will be engraved the indicative sign of the workshop where it will have been manufactured. » The face value is not expressed in francs but in weight! In a letter of 24 Floréal Year 5 (May 13, 1797) addressed to Citizen Thibault, representative of the People, member of the Council of Five Hundred, we learn that Dupré presented a drawing seeking "to avoid the complication that two figures present, by bringing together in only one the symbols appropriate to characterize this same idea. Thus: The type of the gold coin will consist of a seated female figure with a serious bearing, holding in one hand the olive tree of Peace, and in the other leaning on the characteristic attribute of the plenty. Legend: Peace and abundance The exergue will express in Arabic numerals the year of the Republican era The reverse will simply be an oak crown in the middle of which will read the value of the piece, below will be the indicative sign of the workshop coin where it will have been minted. ». This drawing was acquired by the Association des Amis du Franc in 2014. .