Twenty-franc gold coin of Ceres
1851 ・ gold ・ 19th century ・ Paris mint (Second Republic)
The twenty-franc gold coin of Ceres (1851, Second Republic). After the February Revolution of 1848 brought down the July Monarchy and the Banque de France suspended convertibility in the middle of a financial panic, gold was struck bearing the profile of Ceres, goddess of plenty. In place of the king's face, the allegory of the Republic sits on the gold. The standard follows the Germinal franc, the weight of the gold unshaken. The regime changed; the measure of gold did not.