Written by the Maison Or & Bijoux Le Havre team · updated
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Metal | Aluminium bronze (10, 20 and 50 F); cupronickel (100 F) |
| Weight | 10 F: 3 g; 20 F: 4 g; 50 F: 8 g; 100 F: 6 g |
| Diameter | 10 F: 20 mm; 20 F: 23.5 mm; 50 F: 27 mm; 100 F: 24 mm |
| Edge | Plain (Guiraud); reeded (Cochet) |
| Years struck | 10 F: 1950 to 1958 (no 1956); 20 F: 1950 to 1954; 50 F: 1950 to 1954, then 1958; 100 F: 1954 to 1958 |
| Mints | Paris (no letter), Beaumont-le-Roger (B) |
| Engravers | Georges Guiraud; Robert Cochet |
| Privy marks | Wing (Lucien Bazor); owl (Raymond Joly) on part of the 1958 100 F |
| References | Le Franc F.363 (10 F), F.401 and F.402 (20 F), F.425 (50 F), F.450 (100 F); KM 915 to 919 |
These were the coins in French pockets during the 1950s, just before the new franc arrived. Georges Guiraud's 10, 20 and 50 francs, golden yellow in colour, show Marianne on one side and a cockerel on the other; Robert Cochet's white 100 francs carries a torch-bearing Marianne and a sheaf of wheat. Struck by the hundreds of millions, they still turn up in many drawers, though a handful of dates and varieties stand out.
Guiraud (10, 20 and 50 F): head of Marianne facing left, the legend “REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE” and the engraver's signature behind the head, along the rim. Cochet (100 F): bust of Marianne facing right in a Phrygian cap with cockade, holding a lit torch; “RC” monogram behind the neck, same legend.
Guiraud: cockerel standing right above a branch, the denomination (“10 FRANCS”, “20 FRANCS” or “50 FRANCS”) and the date, with the motto “LIBERTE EGALITE FRATERNITE”. When present, the letter B sits below the date. Cochet: three ears of wheat and two olive sprigs, “100 FRANCS”, the date, the same motto and the signature “R. COCHET”; the chief engraver's privy mark is placed below the date.
The table picks out the common dates and those that deserve a closer look. Check first for the letter B below the date or between the sprigs, then, on a 1950 20 francs, the signature and the number of feathers in the cockerel's tail. The dates to watch are the 1954 B 20 francs, the 1958 50 francs, the 1954 10 and 50 francs without a letter, and the 1958 100 francs with the owl.
| Year | Coin | Mint | Mintage | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 10 F | Paris | 13,354,000 or 13,534,000 | First date; catalogues do not give the same figure. |
| 1950 | 10 F | B | 4,807,500 | Smallest Beaumont mintage for the 10 F. |
| 1950 | 20 F “GEORGES GUIRAUD” | Paris | unknown | Signature in full, cockerel with 3 feathers. |
| 1950 | 20 F “GEORGES GUIRAUD” | B | unknown | Known with 3 and 4 feathers; the 4-feather version is the most sought after. |
| 1950 | 20 F “G. GUIRAUD” | Paris | unknown | Abbreviated signature, 3 or 4 feathers. |
| 1950 | 20 F “G. GUIRAUD” | B | 43,355,000 | Combined figure for 3 and 4 feathers. |
| 1951 | 10 F | Paris | 153,689,000 | Very common date. |
| 1953 | 20 F | Paris | 60,158,000 | Common date. |
| 1954 | 10 F | Paris | 2,207,000 | Scarce date. |
| 1954 | 10 F | B | 21,634,454 | Common. |
| 1954 | 20 F | B | 1,573,000 | The only 20 F dated 1954, none struck in Paris; very rare. Le Franc gives the mintage as unknown. |
| 1954 | 50 F | Paris | 1,083,200 | Scarce date. |
| 1954 | 100 F | Paris | 97,285,500 | First year of the Cochet, very common. |
| 1955 | 10 F | Paris | 50,034,000 | Common. |
| 1955 | 100 F | Paris | 152,517,500 | Le Franc lists two varieties for 1955, in Paris and at B. |
| 1957 | 10 F | Paris | 26,351,000 | Common. |
| 1957 | 100 F | B | 25,702,000 | Common. |
| 1958 | 10 F | Paris | 27,213,000 | Last date of the 10 F. |
| 1958 | 50 F | Paris | 500,738 | Last 50 F and smallest mintage of the type. |
| 1958 | 100 F | Paris | n/a | Wing privy mark of Lucien Bazor; Coin Varieties gives 3,256,000 for Paris 1958 without clearly separating the two privy marks. |
| 1958 | 100 F | Paris | 2,646,500 | Owl privy mark of Raymond Joly; rare. |
| 1958 | 100 F | B | 54,072,000 | Last Beaumont-le-Roger striking of this type. |
Mintages from CGB listings (10 F 1951, 1954 B, 1957, 1958; 20 F 1950 B; 50 F 1958; 100 F 1958 owl), CoinVarieties pages citing Gadoury, Krause and Le Franc, and Numista for the 1950 10 F. Years and mints cross-checked with the online Le Franc catalogue. A selection, not a complete list.
Colour sorts them straight away: the three Guiraud coins are yellow aluminium bronze, the Cochet is white cupronickel. After that, size does the rest. A 10 francs measures 20 mm and weighs 3 g, a 20 francs 23.5 mm and 4 g, a 50 francs 27 mm and 8 g. The 100 francs, at 24 mm and 6 g, has a reeded edge, whereas the Guiraud coins have a plain one.
The Guiraud design is the same on all three: Marianne in profile facing left, a standing cockerel on the other side. Only the denomination and the size change. The engraver's signature can be read behind the head, and on most coins it is shortened to “G. GUIRAUD”.
Some 1950 20 francs, however, are signed “GEORGES GUIRAUD” in full. The Le Franc catalogue treats them as a separate type (F.401), distinct from the “G. GUIRAUD” 20 francs (F.402). Coins with the full signature exist only with the 1950 date.
The Cochet is recognisable by its Marianne facing right, torch in hand, and the sheaf of wheat on the reverse. It kept a single design from 1954 to 1958; the varieties are told apart by the mint letter and the small privy mark below the date.
These coins were struck at two mints. Paris used no letter. Beaumont-le-Roger, a Monnaie de Paris facility in the Eure département, marked its output with a B: below the date on the Guiraud coins, between the olive sprigs on the Cochet.
This B has nothing to do with the one used by the old Rouen mint, which shared the letter in the nineteenth century but stopped striking in 1857, almost a hundred years earlier. A coin from the 1950s marked B always comes from Beaumont-le-Roger. The guide to French mints explains these shared letters.
The split between the two mints varied from year to year, which produces some scarce combinations. The 1954 20 francs was struck only at Beaumont; the 1958 50 francs and the 1955, 1957 and 1958 10 francs only in Paris. Conversely, the 1954 Paris 10 francs had a small mintage, while the same date with a B is common. So always note the date and whether the letter is there before drawing conclusions.
The best-known variety concerns the 1950 20 francs. The cockerel's tail has either three or four large sickle-shaped feathers. Le Franc records both versions at Paris and at Beaumont for the “G. GUIRAUD” signature, and at Beaumont for the full signature. The Beaumont “GEORGES GUIRAUD” coin with four feathers is the most sought-after combination. Count the feathers with a magnifier: on a worn coin, the fourth can merge into the rest of the tail.
On the 100 francs, 1958 comes in two forms at Paris. Lucien Bazor, chief engraver until 1958, signed with a bird's wing; his successor Raymond Joly chose an owl. The owl coins are the most sought after. Le Franc also separates two varieties in 1955, though the sources consulted do not clearly describe the difference.
Finally, there are patterns marked ESSAI for the 1950 10, 20 and 50 francs, the 1951 20 francs, the 1952 50 francs and the 1954 100 francs, as well as piedforts. These were presentation pieces and never entered circulation.
The 10 and 20 centimes with Lagriffoul's Marianne, issued from 1962 in a yellow alloy, reuse the sizes of the 10 and 20 francs Guiraud (20 mm and 3 g, 23.5 mm and 4 g). The 50 centimes of the same series is slightly smaller than the 50 francs (25 mm and 7 g). The date and the different portrait settle the matter. Likewise, the nickel 1 franc Semeuse of 1960 matches the Cochet 100 francs in size, at 24 mm and 6 g, but it carries Oscar Roty's sower rather than the torch-bearing Marianne. These new franc coins are covered in the section on francs from 1960 to 2001.
Earlier, Pierre Turin's cupronickel 10 francs (1945-1949) are white, larger than the Guiraud 10 francs, and show ears of wheat on the reverse. Nor should a 1950 20 francs be called a four-feather coin after a quick count: only the combination of signature, mint and feathers places it. With the rare dates, watch out for tampering: an added letter or an altered digit shows up under a magnifier as a patch of different surface around the detail.
Aluminium bronze wears quickly and picks up brown or greenish stains that will not come off. On the Guiraud coins, look first at Marianne's cheek and hair, then the headdress. On the reverse, the cockerel's breast, comb and tail feathers flatten first: on a heavily worn coin the feather veins vanish, which makes counting the feathers on the 1950 20 francs harder.
On the Cochet, Marianne's cheek, the cap and the torch flame are the high points; on the reverse, the grains of wheat and the olives blur with wear. Cupronickel stands up better, but it scratches easily.
Some examples survive in mint state, with their original lustre. Rubbing them to make them shine leaves permanent fine scratches: the guide to cleaning a coin explains why you should not, and the grading scale is set out in grades of preservation.
The letter B on these coins stands for Beaumont-le-Roger, in the Eure, in Normandy: a Monnaie de Paris facility at work from 1943 to 1958 (from 1940 according to some sources), set up to support Paris during and after the war. It should not be mixed up with the old Rouen mint, closed a century earlier. These were the coins of Le Havre's reconstruction: work on Auguste Perret and Jacques Tournant's town hall began in 1953, and the building was inaugurated on 14 July 1958, the year of the last Guiraud and Cochet coins. Today they turn up loose in the coin tins of Norman families.
No. On a coin from the 1950s, the B stands for the Beaumont-le-Roger mint in the Eure. Rouen used the same letter in the nineteenth century but had stopped striking by 1857.
Count the large curved feathers in the cockerel's tail with a magnifier. Note the signature too (“GEORGES GUIRAUD” or “G. GUIRAUD”) and whether there is a B: the three together identify the coin.
The 1954 B 20 francs, the 1958 50 francs, the 1958 100 francs with the owl, then the 1954 10 and 50 francs without a letter. The other dates were struck in very large numbers.
No. They lost legal tender status a few years after the new franc arrived: in 1966 for the 100 francs Cochet, somewhat later for some Guiraud coins according to the catalogues. Their interest today is purely for collectors, and the free appraisal can look at them coin by coin.