1 franc FRANCE (1989) 200 Years of Estates-General

in the coin centre in two lines face value: 1 / FRANC surrounded by a laurer wreath; along the top edge: RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE. (French Republic); along the bottom edge year of issue 1989; ring of cones at the edge

in the coin centre three figures of Estate General representatives en face; in the background aditorium in Versailles; on the bottom inscription in two lines: CONVOCATION DES ÉTATS GÉNÉRAUX / 5 MAI 1789 (convocation of Estates-General 5 May 1789)

reeded

???  no data

18 II 2002

Atelier de gravure (group of designers of the Paris Mint) based on design of Pierre Joseph Tiolier, Claudine Béréchel (signature BÉRÉCHEL along the bottom edge of the obverse)

La Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint), Pessac (mint mark before year of issue in the obverse, after year of issue privy mark of mint's director Emile Rousseau - dolphin)

1989

5 000 011

+ 12 000 in annual boxed sets

Privy marks of the general engravers of the Mint of Paris, which can be found on French coins produced after 1944:

Lucien Bazor	1931-1958		wing
Raymond Joly	1958-1974		owl
Emile Rousseau	1974-1994		dolphin
Pierre Rodier	1994-2000		bee
Gérard Buquoy	2001-2002		horseshoe
Serge Levet	2003		heart
Hubert Larivière	2004-2010		horn
Yves Sampo	from 2011		rosette

Estates-General (in French États-Généraux) was convened by the king of France as his advisory body composed of representatives of three states: the nobility, the clergy and the third estate (mainly the burghers and the peasantry). Their history dates back to the early 14th century during the reign of Philip IV. In 1789, less than five centturies later, the Estates-General convened by Louis XVI was transformed into the National Assembly (in French Assemblée Nationale Constituante), which ended the era of royal absolutism. This became the trigger for the French Revolution, conquest of Bastille and the proclamation of the First French Republic.

Versailles - the auditorium of Estates-General.



The Paris Mint (La Monnaie de Paris) dating back to the 6th century is the oldest French institution, and some would say - oldest institution in the world. The mint office is located in the center of Paris in a complex called Hotel des Monnaies, which was opened on December 20, 1775. A cornucopia is the symbol placed on any coin minted by the Paris Mint from January 1, 1880. The second character visible on coins was a symbol of the general engraver (Graveur general). The tradition of this job dates back to 1547 when Henry II of Valois appointed a general engraver as the only person authorized to create the king's portrait. Only the design prepared by the general engraver could have been copied to the coins stamps in national mints. Starting from 2001, the heads of engravers workshop in the Paris Mint do not hold this traditional title anymore, but their privy marks still appear on French coins next to the mint mark.

The name of the French mint - La Monnaie de Paris - suggests that the plant producing coins is located in the French capital. This is however, only the company name and factories were placed in various French cities. At the moment, the only place producing coins of France (and of some other countries) is Pessac near Bordeaux.