5 francs FRANCE (1960-1969)

in coin centre personification of France - figure of Marianne in Phrygian cap sowing cereal leftwards (La Semeuse), in the background the Sun hidden mostly below the horizon; along the left edge: REPUBLIQUE, along the right: FRANÇAISE (French Republic)

in the coin centre olive and oak branches together with cereal ears; above in two lines face value: 5 / FRANCS; on the bottom year of issue; along the top edge motto of France: LIBERTE • EGALITE • FRATERNITE (liberty, equality, fraternity)

plain with convex inscription: * LIBERTE * EGALITE * FRATERNITE * (liberty, equality, fraternity)

22 XII 1959

19 II 1980

Atelier de gravure (group of designers of the Paris Mint) based on design of Louis Oscar Roty (signature O.ROTY on the bottom of the obverse)

La Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint), Paris (mint mark before face value 5 in the reverse, after face value 5 privy mark of mint's director Raymond Joly - owl)

1960	55 082 000
1961	15 630 000
1962	42 500 000
1963	37 936 000
1964	32 378 000	+ 25 600 in annual boxed sets
1965	5 121 000	+ 35 000 in annual boxed sets
1966	5 010 000	+ 7 171 in annual boxed sets
1967	700 000	+ 2 305 in annual boxed sets
1968	354 000	+ 3 000 in annual boxed sets
1969	498 000	+ 6 050 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

Marianne - the allegory of Liberty - the symbol of the culture and the national emblem of France. Her images adorn not only coins, but also stamps, state seals, institutions logos, courts of law. Marianne is presented mostly in the Phrygian cap (cap of liberty). Many monuments and paintings were devoted to her. She is often armed leading the French people to fight for liberty, equality and fraternity. Marianne's image changed over the years. Anonymous Marianne was represented by faces of movie stars such as Brigitte Bardot or Catherine Deneuve. Below the official logo of France and the French government.



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.