Owner Comments:
1898 A 20 Francs - Design: OBVERSE: Standing Genius (Angel) writing the Constitution on a tablet. At the left is a fasces, a ancient Roman symbol of authority, surmounted by a Republican cap, at right is a Gallic cock. The name of the engraver (Augustin) Dupre is below the figure. ~ REVERSE: Laurel wreath of oak leaves surrounding the denomination and date. Lettering = Liberte Egalite Fraternite (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity).).
Mint: Paris (A)
Mintage: 8,866,000
References: KM# 825 / Fr.592
Specifications: mm / 6.4516 g. @ .9000 Gold = .1867 oz AGW
Acquired: February 2005
Notes:
- Commonly referred as "French Angel" or “Lucky Angel” coin
- This coin also has a motto on engraved in its edge, Dieu Protegue La France (God Protect France)
- France's Third Republic Period. The Third Republic Period of France which started with Napoleon III's defeat in the Franco- Prussian War of 1870 and lasted until World War II
- Almost from the beginning, gold Angels were regarded as lucky. Their legend began during the Reign of Terror in the mid-1790s, when the coin’s designer, Augustus Dupré, claimed to have been saved from the guillotine by the lucky Angel coin in his pocket. According to legend, Dupré said a quick prayer as he knelt beneath the deadly blade. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck nearby, igniting a panic that halted his execution. Within six months Dupré was a free man, believing forever after that he was saved from certain death by the protective powers of his guardian gold Angel.
- By the mid-19th century, the Angel’s reputation for good luck was firmly entrenched. Captains seldom went to sea without one. French pilots in World War I rarely took flight without a gold Angel coin in their kit, believing it would protect them from the Red Baron and his aces. During World War II, the chief of Hitler’s Luftwaffe, Hermann Goering, became obsessed with these French angel coins. Confiscating all he could find, he presented them to ace German fighter pilots as rewards for every fifth Allied plane shot down.