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PRESENT DAY COINS] adopted for the gold and silver in 1893, new reverse types were prepared for the half-crown, florin and shilling, and the issue of the double florin was discontinued. The portrait of the queen was the work of the sculptor Thomas Brock, R.A., who was careful to avoid the defects which had been somewhat severely criticized in Sir J. Edgar Boehm’s design of 1887. The new type for the half-crown, a spade-shaped shield within the garter, was also executed by Mr Brock; and those for the florin and shilling, three shields placed triangularly, were by Sir Edward Poynter. In 1895 a new issue of bronze money was ordered, when the queen’s bust of 1893 was adopted, and a slight alteration made in the reverse type, the representation of a lighthouse and a ship, which had been added to the design in 1860, being eliminated. The coinage of Edward VII. differed but slightly from that of Queen Victoria. The denominations were the same; but on the obverse the head of the king (by G. W. de Saulles, engraver to the Mint) was represented bare, the title “Britanniarum” was changed to “Britanniarum Omnium Rex,” the reverse of the florin showed Britannia standing on a ship, and that of the shilling the royal crest, the lion on a crown, as on the so-called “lion-shillings” of 1826. The designing of the new coinage of George V. was entrusted to Mr Bertram Mackennal.

France.—On the establishment of the Third Republic in France in 1870, the coinage was continued on the same lines as before, the types only being altered. The silver franc of 5 grammes (78 grains) as ordered in 1793 and confirmed by the Latin Monetary Union of 1865, which included Belgium, Italy and Switzerland, and subsequently in 1868 Greece, has remained the unit of value. The denominations ordered were, in gold, the 100, 50 and 20 francs; in silver, the 5, 2 and 1 franc, and 50 and 20 centimes; and in bronze, the 10, 5, 2 and 1 centime. The types adopted were those which had been used previously—thus for the gold that of a genius inscribing the tables of the law, as designed by Augustin Dupré for the reverse of the constitutional coinage of Louis XVI.; for the silver and copper the head of the Republic as executed by Oudiné for the money of 1848. Subsequently, in 1871, the type of the 5 francs was changed for that of Hercules leaning on Liberty and Strength, as made by Dupré for the First Republic. In 1889 the 10 francs in gold was added to the list, having the head of the Republic crowned with corn, the work of Merley for the Republic of 1848; but only a small number of these coins was struck in that year and in 1895. No further alteration was made till after 1895, When, in consequence of suggestions that the types should be modified so as to mark the Third Republic, the artists Chaplain, Roty and Dupuis were commissioned to execute new designs—the first for the gold, the second for the silver, and the last for the bronze. The types approved were: for the gold 20 francs, the head of the Republic with a Phrygian cap, and the Gallic cock; for the silver 2 and 1 franc and 50 centimes, the sower sowing, with the rising sun in the background, and a laurel

branch; and for the bronze, the bust of the Republic wearing a Phrygian cap, and on the reverse France seated amidst clouds, holding a branch and a flag, and accompanied by a genius. These coins were not issued simultaneously—the 50 centimes appearing in 1897, and 2 and 1 franc and 10, 5, 2 and 1 centime in 1898, and the 20 francs in 1899. In 1903 a nickel piece of 25 centimes was introduced, since 1904 with a polygonal edge to facilitate distinction from the silver. The quartering of the franc is a departure from the strictly decimal system, also adopted in Italy. These later coins are characteristic of modern French medallic art, which has a strong tendency to imitate that of Italy of the 16th century. Belgium.—Of the other states which formed the Latin Monetary Union, Belgium had already in 1832 adopted the French decimal and bimetallic system, with the franc as the unit of value. Her accession to the Union, therefore, only entailed a slight modification of type and denominations, which latter were the same as in France, except that the only gold coin was the 20 francs, the 25 centimes in silver was not issued, and the pieces of 10 and 5 centimes are now in nickel. The gold and silver coins have for types the head of the king and the royal shield, those in nickel the Belgic lion and mark of value, and those in bronze the royal monogram and the lion holding the tables of the constitution. Some of the silver coins have the inscriptions in Flemish. The nickel coinage introduced in 1902 is perforated in the centre to prevent confusion with silver.

Switzerland.—Like Belgium, Switzerland had before her adhesion to the Latin Monetary Union adopted the French system, with the franc of 100 centimes or rappen as the unit of value. The denominations in gold and silver were the same as issued for Belgium, but no gold was struck before 1883. The coins of baser metal were the 20, 10 and 5 centimes in billon, which metal was in 1879 changed for the nickel, and in copper the 2 and 1 centime. Certain changes of type have from time to time occurred. The first issue of the 20 francs in 1883 shows the head of the Republic and the shield of the Confederation; but this was changed in 1897 for the head of Helvetia above a range of mountains, and on the reverse a wreath with mark of value. On the silver coins from 1874 Helvetia is represented standing instead of seated, and on the nickel money of 1879 the shield of the Republic is replaced by the head of Helvetia. The mark of value and a wreath form the general reverse type of all the silver, nickel and copper coins. Since 1888 a 5-franc piece, similar in type to the 20 francs of 1883, has been issued.

Italy.—When Italy joined the Latin Monetary Union in 1865, she adopted as the unit of her coinage the lira of 100 centesimi, equal to the franc. The coins were of gold, silver and bronze, and of the same denominations as those struck in Belgium and Switzerland. In 1894 a nickel coinage of 20 centesimi was ordered. The general type for all the coinage is the head of the king and the royal arms, but on the reverse of the copper is the mark of value; and the nickel money has on the reverse a crown with a wreath. A new nickel piece of 25 centesimi indicates a departure from the strictly decimal system. The coinages of all the small Italian states, including the Papal, have now passed out of currency.

Greece.—A special stipulation was made, when Greece was enrolled in the Latin Monetary Union in 1868, that all her money should be struck at a French mint. The unit of the coinage