Jump to content

Two francs of 1944 coined in the U.S.


richard228

Recommended Posts

  • Benefactor

From the article: 

In preparation for D-Day, 50 million coins with the face value of 2 francs were minted in Philadelphia to be used by the soldiers in the liberated zone. When De Gaulle discovered this, he became very upset and argued with Sir Winston Churchill and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower that the issuing of coins was inherently a sign of national sovereignty and therefore was the responsibility of the new French government commanded by himself. Nevertheless, the U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt claimed that when his country entered into the war, the only France he knew was the Vichy Republic, allied to the Nazi Germany. The coin in question was an emergency issue. In terms of style, it’s pretty rudimentary: on the obverse appears the word FRANCE surrounded by a laurel wreath and on the reverse is inscribed “LIBERTÉ EGALITÉ FRATERNITÉ 2 FR.1944”. It was the only coin in this series and circulated just for a brief time after the Allied occupation. The coin is part of the so-called billet drapeau, banknotes issued by the allied troops to be used in France during wartime.

Edited by DonnaML
  • Like 5
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

From the article: 

In preparation for D-Day, 50 million coins with the face value of 2 francs were minted in Philadelphia to be used by the soldiers in the liberated zone. When De Gaulle discovered this, he became very upset and argued with Sir Winston Churchill and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower that the issuing of coins was inherently a sign of national sovereignty and therefore was the responsibility of the new French government commanded by himself. Nevertheless, the U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt claimed that when his country entered into the war, the only France he knew was the Vichy Republic, allied to the Nazi Germany. The coin in question was an emergency issue. In terms of style, it’s pretty rudimentary: on the obverse appears the word FRANCE surrounded by a laurel wreath and on the reverse is inscribed “LIBERTÉ EGALITÉ FRATERNITÉ 2 FR.1944”. It was the only coin in this series and circulated just for a brief time after the Allied occupation. The coin is part of the so-called billet drapeau, banknotes issued by the allied troops to be used in France during wartime.

Thank you Donna¡¡¡

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Yes, interesting story.

Here's my example of the said coin, found at my grand parents (south of France, not far from Marseille) when I was a kid

741017b2afa54b61907b48c8f541af99.jpg

Gouvernement provisoire (19441946) - 2 francs Philadelphie 1944
Ref : Le Franc 10 # 271/1
Référence : Le Fr10-271-01

Q

  • Like 3
  • Heart Eyes 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...