The Napoléon is the colloquial term for a former French gold coin. The coins were minted in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 40, 50, and 100 francs. This article focuses on the 20 franc coins issued during the reign of Napoléon Bonaparte, which are 21 mm in diameter, weigh 6.45 grams and, at 90% pure, contain 0.1867 troy ounces (5.807 g) of pure gold. The coin was issued during the reign of Napoleon I and features his portrait on the obverse. The denomination continued in use through the 19th century and later French gold coins in the same denomination were generally referred to as "Napoléons". Earlier French gold coins are referred to as Louis or écu. Gold Napoléons have historically proven more resilient than other gold coins to economic forces, such as after the Suez crisis when unlike other coins Napoléons did not weaken.
A 20-franc Napoléon from the latter part of 1803, also known as An 12. N.B. the French Revolutionary calendar began in September with the Revolution and therefore each Revolutionary year falls into two Gregorian calendar years.
A 40-franc Napoléon from 1807
Obverse of the Bonaparte Premier Consul struck in 1803 at Paris, the first year of issue. Note the youthful portrait of Napoleon and compare to later issues reflecting contemporaneous appearances of the Emperor. Engravers: Jean-Pierre Droz (1746–1823) & Pierre-Joseph Tiolier (1763–1819).
Reverse of the same coin 1803 Paris (AN XI indicates the 11th year after the French Revolution, or the latter part of 1803). A coin not often seen (58,262 were minted), this example exhibits Extra Fine details for a 206-year-old coin. The "A" denotes the Paris mint and the rooster denotes the mint master Charles-Pierre de l'Espine (1797–1821). Napoleon ordered coins struck in year 11 to be dated with Roman numerals fearing that Arabic numeral eleven would look like a two in Roman numerals and thus remind the public of the horrors of the Reign of Terror which occurred in the year 2.
The franc, also commonly distinguished as the French franc (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It was reintroduced in 1795. After two centuries of inflation, it was redenominated in 1960, with each new franc (NF) being worth 100 old francs. The NF designation was continued for a few years before the currency returned to being simply the franc. Many French residents, though, continued to quote prices of especially expensive items in terms of the old franc, up to and even after the introduction of the euro in 2002. The French franc was a commonly held international reserve currency of reference in the 19th and 20th centuries. Between 1998 and 2002, the conversion of francs to euros was carried out at a rate of 6.55957 francs to 1 euro.
Denier of Charlemagne c. 800
Gros Tournois of Louis IX, 1266
Franc à cheval
Franc à pied
