Coin Pièce France 25 centimes Copper-Nickel 1940 A Paris

The 1940 Lindauer 25 centimes is a French coin struck at the Paris mint, identified by the mintmark A. It belongs to the Lindauer series, whose reverse design is attributed to the engraver Edmond Lindauer, who designed several coin types for the French Third Republic.

This coin is made of copper-nickel, an alloy characteristic of French small denomination issues from the interwar period and the early 1940s. It has a weight of 3 grams and a diameter of 24 millimetres, standardised dimensions for this denomination.

The obverse features a female bust in left profile, symbolising the French Republic in the guise of Marianne, surrounded by the legend « RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE ». The reverse bears the face value « 25 CENTIMES » along with the year of issue, framed by typical Lindauer-style vegetal decorative motifs.

The 1940 vintage carries particular historical significance, as it corresponds to the year of the French defeat and the establishment of the Vichy regime. The strikes of that year thus mark one of the last issues under the authority of the Third Republic before the institutional upheavals that followed. The mintage of 3,446,375 pieces remains relatively modest compared to some earlier dates in the same series, making it a less common coin in collections.

The Lindauer series in 25 centimes copper-nickel was produced discontinuously between the 1910s and 1940, spanning several decades of French monetary history. The 1940 date represents one of the last issues of this type before the overhaul of the monetary system under the Vichy government, which introduced new types and materials, notably due to the constraints imposed by the war.