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50 Centimes Monaco essai
| Issuer | Principauté de Monaco |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Albert Berthe |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | An ornate border of garlands, flowers, and intertwined orange and olive branches frames the design. At centre, a medallion encloses a vignette of the Rock of Monaco, the upper arc of the medallion cut by the date and the lower arc by the denomination. The word ESSAI appears below, along with the engraver's and printer's credits. |
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| Signature(s) | R. le Bourdon and A. Noghès |
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| Comments |
Monaco's 1920 emergency fractional issues were a direct response to the wartime hoarding and melting of small coinage that had left much of Western Europe without functional low-denomination currency. The Principauté printed its own series locally through Veuve A. Chêne — a Monégasque firm, not an imported security printer — which makes these among the very few emergency notes of the period produced entirely within the issuing territory.
Essai status means this specific example never entered circulation; it was a proof or trial strike submitted for approval. Berthe's engraving work is the technical highlight — unusually refined craftsmanship for what was ultimately a wartime stopgap at half a franc.