50 centimes FRANCE (1941-1947)

in the coin centre personification of France - Marianne's head in Phrygian cap and a wreath facing left; along the left edge: REPVBLIQVE, along the right one: FRANÇAISE (REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE - French Republic)

in the coin centre in two lines face value: 50 / CENTIMES; below year of issue; along the left and right edge two cornucopias; along the top edge in two lines motto of France: LIBERTE - EGALITE / FRATERNITE (liberty, equality, fraternity)

plain

28 VI 1943

26 VI 1950

Pierre-Alexandre Morlon (signature MORLON behind Marianne's head in the obverse)

La Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint) (mint mark before year of issue in the reverse, after year of issue privy mark of mint's director Lucien Bazor - wing)

plant Paris (no letter between the bottoms of cornucopias in the reverse),

plant Beaumont-le-Roger (letter B between the bottoms of cornucopias in the reverse),

plant Castelsarrasin (letter C between the bottoms of cornucopias in the reverse)

	Paris	Beaumont-le-Roger	Castelsarrasin
1941	-	-
1944	9 898 000	-	-
1945	26 224 000	6 356 819	2 967 613
1946	24 604 644	29 344 000	-
1947	51 744 000	18 504 000	-

1945 - no letter (plant Paris) or letter B (plant Beaumont-le-Roger), or letter C (plant Castelsarrasin)

1946, 1947 - no letter (plant Paris) or letter B (plant Beaumont-le-Roger)

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

In 1946 2 840 644 coins were struck in Castelsarrasin plant, but without an appropriate mint mark of the plant - letter 'C'. It is therefore, impossible to distinguish these coins from the ones produced in the Paris plant.

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.