1941 France 2 Francs KM# 886a.1

One of my father's sisters married a man named Fred. Well, his given name was Frederick, but everyone called him "Fred." My Uncle Fred was in the US Army during World War II and served combat-duty in France. He was awarded several medals for his service, including a Purple Heart for sustaining injuries in combat — a bomb detonated close to him during the war and he was injured by shrapnel. Among the many injuries he sustained, he was left with only one functioning eye, and the other was replaced with a glass eye.

As was the case, many countries that were involved in World War II needed to change the alloy of the coins they minted, to preserve certain metals for the war effort. France was no exception. This coin had previously been minted from an aluminum-brass alloy, but during times of war, minting was done on pure aluminum planchets to preserve the brass for shell casings and such. That makes this coin incredibly lightweight.


The obverse (front) of this coin is stamped with "RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE" around the outside. The head of Marianne, a variation of the Goddess of Liberty, is in the center of the coin. She is a symbol of the French Republic and is is wearing laurels in her hair. Between the back of her head and the second "A" in "FRANÇAISE" is the last name of the engraver, Pierre-Alexandre Morlon.


Across the top of the reverse (back) is the motto of the French Republic: "LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, FRATERNITÉ" (without the diacritical marks) which means: "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" (with "fraternity" being another word for "brotherhood," which isn't intended to be gender-specific, but a unity of the French people as a whole). The denomination "2 FRANCS" and the minting date (1941, on my specimen) are flanked by a cornucopia on each side, signifying abundance.

I've had this coin so long that I forget who gave it to me or how it came to them. It might have been my grandmother... or it might have been Mrs. Small, a friend of the family long ago... I wish I could remember. It reminds me, though, of Uncle Fred and his service in defeating the right-wing extremist Axis powers during World War II. So, even though it might — or might not — have been Uncle Fred who brought this coin back from the war, I thought it rather fitting to share this coin today, on Uncle Fred's birthday (although he passed a couple of years ago) as a remembrance of him. 🙌