Written by the Maison Or & Bijoux Le Havre team · updated
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Metal | 900‰ silver |
| Weight | 15 g |
| Pure silver | 13.5 g |
| Diameter | 31 mm |
| Thickness | 2 mm |
| Edge | Smooth |
| Issue | Panthéon from 1982 to 2001; commemoratives from 1984 to 1997, one a year |
| Mint | Paris Mint |
| Mint and engraver marks | Cornucopia; dolphin, bee on the Panthéon from 1995 |
| End of validity | Euro in 2002; Banque de France buy-back closed in February 2005 |
| Le Franc numbers | F.451 (Panthéon); F.452 to F.465 (commemoratives) |
A large white 100 francs coin found in a drawer stands a good chance of being silver: from 1982 to 2001, the Paris Mint struck it at 900‰, on a 15 g, 31 mm blank. It comes as a standard type, the Panthéon, and as fourteen commemorative subjects issued from 1984 to 1997. The public mostly kept it as a keepsake, which explains why it is so often in fine condition.
Panthéon: the Paris monument seen head-on, with its columns and dome, together with the date and “REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE” (the French Republic) around the edge. Commemorative: a design devoted to the year's subject, for example Marie Curie, Émile Zola, La Fayette, Charlemagne, the Liberation of Paris or André Malraux.
You read the value, written “100 FRANCS”, alongside “LIBERTE EGALITE FRATERNITE”, the national motto. The Panthéon has a tree and a hexagon on its reverse. Look with a magnifier, near the date or the value, for the cornucopia (the Paris Mint's mark) and the Chief Engraver's dolphin or bee.
The table separates the two families. At the top, the Panthéon coins where the date changes everything: from several million to a few thousand pieces in under ten years. Below, the fourteen commemoratives, all struck by the million except the last, the Malraux.
| Date | Type | Circulation mintage | Pointer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Panthéon | 3,002,200 | First Panthéon. |
| 1983 | Panthéon | 4,984,400 | Millions struck. |
| 1984 | Panthéon | 4,986,800 | Millions struck. |
| 1985 | Panthéon | 987,200 | Under a million. |
| 1986 | Panthéon | 486,400 | Under half a million. |
| 1987 | Panthéon | 81,000 | Low. |
| 1988 | Panthéon | 85,000 | Low. |
| 1989 | Panthéon | 83,000 | Low. |
| 1990 | Panthéon | 5,000 | Very low. |
| 1991 | Panthéon | 5,000 | Very low. |
| 1995 | Panthéon | 4,011 | With the bee. |
| 1996 | Panthéon | 2,013 | Lowest known for circulation. |
| 1984 | Marie Curie | 3,951,400 | Scientist, Nobel laureate. |
| 1985 | Émile Zola | 3,968,400 | Germinal, 1885. |
| 1986 | Statue of Liberty | about 4.4 million | Centenary of the monument. |
| 1987 | La Fayette | about 4.8 million | Equality. |
| 1988 | Fraternité | 4,840,011 | Fraternity. |
| 1989 | Rights of Man | about 4.83 million | 1789-1989. |
| 1990 | Charlemagne | 4,962,261 | Highest mintage. |
| 1991 | René Descartes | 3,965,161 | Philosopher. |
| 1992 | Jean Monnet | 3,925,311 | Father of Europe. |
| 1993 | Liberty Leading the People | 1,832,000 | Delacroix. |
| 1994 | Liberation of Paris | 1,598,400 | 1944-1994. |
| 1995 | 8 May 1945 | 1,990,411 | 1945-1995. |
| 1996 | Clovis | 2,002,610 | King of the Franks. |
| 1997 | André Malraux | 496,913 | Lowest mintage. |
Main source: Wikipedia in French, one article per coin, for the circulation strike only (trials excluded). BDOR and Coin Varieties publish similar numbers, a few thousand apart. Three subjects are rounded because the figures diverge: the Statue of Liberty (4,414,411 according to BDOR, the Wikipedia value being clearly inaccurate), La Fayette (Wikipedia: 4,795,815; at BDOR, the figure shown is the Zola one) and the Rights of Man (BDOR 2,500,000, Coin Varieties 4,834,611, Wikipedia 4,834,655). No Panthéon was struck for circulation from 1992 to 1994 or from 1997 to 2001: those dates are found only in BU and proof sets. Order and numbering of subjects: Le Franc.
Put the coin on an accurate kitchen scale: a genuine silver 100 francs reads 15 g. Then look at the design. The Panthéon, recognisable by its dome, calls for a careful reading of the date, since a few years were produced in only a few thousand pieces. A commemorative is identified by its subject, which is enough to date it because each theme matches a single year.
Finally, look at the surface. A coin with a mirror field, or one still in a case with its certificate, belongs to a collector finish: do not take it out of its packaging.
Chief Engraver between 1974 and 1994, Émile Rousseau signed the coins with a dolphin. His successor Pierre Rodier chose the bee, seen on the Panthéon from 1995. For the same design, the mark therefore shows the period.
The Paris Mint also kept a few subjects for higher qualities, in small runs: proof for 1,000 Marie Curie and 5,000 Zola, uncirculated for 50,000 Zola, brilliant uncirculated for 25,000 La Fayette. Proof Panthéon coins cover the years 1991 to 2001.
Circulation wear is rare: these coins changed hands little. The damage comes from storage. The wide smooth field scratches as soon as it rubs against another coin; the smooth edge shows knocks; the silver darkens or turns iridescent in old sachets and rolls. On the Panthéon, look first at the top of the dome and the pediment; on portraits, the cheek, nose and hair.
No cleaning: even gentle, it leaves fine marks. Read cleaning a coin and grades of condition (in French). Against copies, remember three signals: weight under 15 g, reaction to a magnet, soft relief or a pitted surface; see spotting a fake coin (in French).
The creation of the silver 100 francs in 1982 broke with the rest of the coinage, struck in non-precious metals. Jean-Claude Dieudonné's Panthéon design served as the standard type. Hoarded almost at once, the coin saw its mintage melt: only 81,000 Panthéon coins in 1987.
From 1984 to 1997, a different commemorative came out each year. The subjects mix people, republican values and historic anniversaries. Until 1992, mintages stayed near 4 to 5 million; they then dropped below 2 million, and the final Malraux stayed under 500,000.
The last Panthéon coins, up to 2001, were meant for sets. With the euro, the coin lost its legal tender status in 2002; the Banque de France stopped exchanging it after February 2005. More broadly: new franc coins (in French).
The last commemorative, in 1997, honours André Malraux, and Le Havre owes him a museum. As Minister for Cultural Affairs, he opened the town's new museum on 24 June 1961, the first museum and arts centre of its kind, which now bears his name: the MuMa. A Malraux 100 francs found in a Le Havre family thus carries a small piece of local history. Like its thirteen predecessors, it is worth sorting by subject before a free valuation at the shop.
If it is dated 1982 to 2001 and weighs 15 g for 31 mm, yes: Panthéon and commemoratives are 900‰. A 1950s 100 francs (Cochet) contains none.
Those of the 1990s: 5,000 pieces in 1990 and 1991, 4,011 in 1995, 2,013 in 1996 for circulation, according to Wikipedia.
It is the sign of Émile Rousseau, who held the post of Chief Engraver until 1994. Pierre Rodier's bee then takes over.
Yes. Bring the coins as they are, with cases and certificates if any, for a free valuation.