2 francs FRANCE (1941-1959)

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: 2 / FRANCS; 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

20 XII 1941

18 II 2002

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 - in years 1941-1950 or Raymond Joly - owl - in years 1958-1959)

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	???	-	-	wing
1944	7 224 000	-	-	wing
1945	16 636 896	1 726 144	1 164 705	wing
1946	36 462 877	6 017 500	-	wing
1947	78 984 000	26 219 500	-	wing
1948	32 354 500	39 090 000	-	wing
1949	13 683 500	23 955 000	-	wing
1950	12 590 508	18 185 000	-	wing
1958	9 906 000	-	-	owl
1959	17 774 500	-	-	owl

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

1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950 - 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

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.