French Indochina, 1 Centième, 1889
Paris - Flan Bruni - Bronze - MS(64) - KM:1
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Personification of Liberty seated left, head facing, holding a fasce in her right hand and resting her left arm on the armrest of her seat, anchor resting against it, ears of wheat at her feet and date in exergue.
Latin denomination divided by a cartouche bearing the denomination in Chinese, all within a pearled circle, weight below.
This extremely rare coin was minted on a burnished flan in only 100 examples! It comes from the equally rare set “République française - Monnaies de l'Indo-Chine française”. Our example is also accompanied by an old collector's note.
RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE // 1889
1-C / ·INDO-CHINE FRANÇAISE· / POIDS 10 GR
9.95 gr
Bronze
Bronze (not to be confused with brass, although usage of the two terms varied in times of yore) is an extremely ancient alloy with origins going back to the period around 2,000 BC. Also known...wait for it...as the Bronze Age (who would have guessed?). Back in ancient times, a proportion of 10% tin was added to copper. It was used in particular for luxurious objects such as swords, helmets, hairpins, and even chariot ornaments.
That is by no means insignificant though, as when putting on a bronze helmet you would already find yourself with an extra 3 kilos or so on your head. Add to that your sword and armor…let’s see you advance quickly now!
The heavyweight of alloys one might say*.
The first Western bronze coins probably date back to the end of the 4th century BC and Greece.
Although the coins may be ancient, it is more difficult to date the appearance of a specific word for this alloy. The earliest record is a Venetian manuscript in Greek dating from the 11th century, but it is not impossible that it was in use earlier.
Nowadays, the bronze used in coinage is an alloy of copper (majority) and tin (minority) along with other metals such as zinc, for example, which improves the castability, or nickel, which produces a harder alloy. Its main qualities are undeniably its great resistance to corrosion and mechanical wear as well as...its aesthetic aspect.
The patina of bronze can vary, ranging from verdigris to brown through to black.
*Actually, puns aside, copper and cupronickel have a greater density, for example.
