Philippe Théret and Michel Taillard supported by the associations ADF (Friends of the Franc) and ADAN(Friends of Numismatic Authors) have worked to provide collectors and professionals with new tools toapproach the fascinating field of French essays of the period 1803 to 1870. That is to say from the creation ofthe Germinal Franc under Napoleon Bonaparte to the fall of Napoleon III.

The field of essays is wide: coin design contest essays, design trials, splashers, trial strikes, patterns, branch minttrials, political propaganda essay strikes (Napoleon II, Henri V...), presentation strikes for dignitaries, proofstrikes, restrikes for collectors, Mint Visit strikes (Paris mint and branch mints)...

A collection of six volumes (one per period) are in preparation since mid 2021.

The most important public institutions have collaborated in the realization of these works:

It is clear that public collections contributed very largely to the census to produce the various works. But itwould nevertheless be simplistic to only take these sources into account. These collections, as admirable as theyare, do not have all the different essays. The catalogs of the different sales over time have made it possible notonly to refine this inventory but also to assess the frequencies of appearance, rarities, prices and their evolution.

In addition to these important contributions, 160,000 pages of archives have been digitized over the past 20years. This has allowed to better understand the essays and in many cases the manufacturing figures!

For this series of books, the structure of each book will remain the same: the first part will be dedicated to thearchives, a second part dedicated to the census catalog (with price quotes) and finally a third part, the Gallery,with full page photo plates.

The first volume covering the period of Napoleon I, from 1803 to 1815 was just released in november 2023(Editor : cgb.fr).

For more information, or to order, see:
Le Franc Les Essais, Les Archives - Napoléon Ier (1803-1815) THÉRET Philippe, TAILLARD Michel(https://www.cgbfr.com/le-franc-les-essais-les-archives-napoleon-ier-1803-1815-theret-philippe-taillard-michel,lf27,a.html)