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Garys Coin of the Month (Volume 2 Number 5) for January 2013 features an NGC PFUC-68 French 100 franc coin (KM#1096) commemorating the 100th anniversary of cinema and the actress, Audrey Hepburn.
This coin with a silver fineness of .9000, weighs 22.2 grams, has an ASW (actual silver weight) of .6423 ounces, and is 37 mm in diameter. The mintage of this proof-only coin is 15,000. The central device on the obverse of the coin is an antique movie camera. The French motto inscribed around the rim from 8:00 to 2:00 is translated, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. On the right hemisphere of the obverse are the initials RF representing the Republic of France, the denomination of the coin at 100 Francs, and the year 1995. Below the date are two small privy marks. The Cornucopia denotes that the coin is a product of the Paris Mint, and the Bee identifies Pierre Rodier as the engraver general. The central device on the reverse is a head 3/4 left bust of Audrey Hepburn. Inscribed along the upper rim of the obverse is the translated phrase, Centenary of the Cinema.
I have always been amazed by the inventions of the 19th century that have transformed into multi-billion dollar industries today. One of those multi-billion dollar industries of course is the motion picture industry. Much of the credit for this burgeoning industry today should go to its founders Auguste and Louis Lumiere. For it was on December 28, 1895 in the basement of the Salon Indien du Grand Cafe in Paris, France that the Lumiere Brothers brought to screen the first motion pictures to a paying audience.
One of the persons in attendance that day was a magician by the name of Georges Melies who later wrote, we sat there with our mouths open, awe-struck, and beyond words. Interestingly, Melies himself went on to produce motion pictures of his own. In 1902 he produced the first known science fiction motion picture entitled, "A Trip to the Moon."
Another thing that amazes me is how someone can take a dreadful childhood and use it to help others. In Audrey Hepburns case, she used her painful experiences as a child to bless untold numbers of people worldwide.
Audrey Hepburn was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston on May 4, 1929 to a British father and a Dutch mother in Ixelles, Belgium. After her parents separated, Audreys mother moved her to Arnhem, Netherlands in 1935.
From 1939 to 1945, Audrey Hepburn attended the Arnhem Conservatory where among other things she studied ballet. Audrey loved ballet dancing, but it was thought that due to her physical maladies brought on by malnutrition during her teenage years that she would not excel in it. The mistreatment and starving of the Dutch people during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands would have a profound effect on the rest of Audrey Hepburns life.
Not dissuaded by lifes disappointments, Audrey tenaciously pursued a career in modeling. From there she used her experience in dancing to compete and win one of ten spots in a chorus line from among 4000 dancers. Shortly thereafter, she beat out Elizabeth Taylor for a starring role in Roman Holiday for which she subsequently won an Academy Award. The rest, as they say, is the stuff dreams are made of as Audrey Hepburn went on to be a successful actress.
There is yet another aspect of Audrey Hepburns life that continued almost unnoticed and unknown by me until I got interested in her coin. Influenced by her childhood, Audrey was an advocate for the long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to mothers and children in developing countries. Working through UNICEF (The United Nations Childrens Fund) Audrey was appointed UNICEFs goodwill ambassador in 1989. In 1992, Audrey was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her humanitarian work through UNICEF. Audrey Hepburn died at the age of 63 on January 20, 1993. However, as a legacy Audrey Hepburns humanitarian work continues through the Audrey Hepburn Childrens Fund, first chaired by her eldest son and currently now by her younger son.