Coin Pièce France 1 franc Silver Céres - Demeter 1895 A Paris

The 1895 Cérès franc is a silver coin issued under the French Third Republic. Struck at the Paris Mint, identifiable by the mintmark "A", it is part of the ongoing republican monetary reform of the 19th century.

The obverse of this coin depicts Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture and harvests, assimilated to the Greek Demeter. This monetary type, introduced under the Second Republic, was adopted and perpetuated under the Third Republic as a symbol of agricultural and republican France. The bust of Ceres is adorned with wheat ears, the traditional attribute of the deity, and is generally accompanied by the date of issue as well as inscriptions characteristic of French Republican coinage.

This issue has a mintage of 3,200,000 specimens, making it a coin produced in significant quantities for the year 1895. The coin has a face value of one franc and is composed of silver with a fineness of 835 thousandths, meaning an alloy containing 83.5% pure silver, in accordance with the monetary standards of the Latin Union in force at that time.

Physically, the coin has a weight of 5 grams and a diameter of 23 millimetres, standardised dimensional characteristics for this type of denomination within the monetary system of the era.