eBay

The Great Attempt of 1839–1840

Barre & Tiolier’s Forgotten Essai Masterpieces of France’s Copper Coinage

By the late 1830s, France faced a numismatic embarrassment. Its copper coins—survivors of the Revolution and the Napoleonic era—were worn, inconsistent, and technologically outdated. The government wanted a modern, unified bronze currency, and two of the era’s most gifted engravers stepped forward to deliver it.

A Collaboration of Artistic Titans

Nicolas-Pierre Tiolier, the Graveur Général of the Paris Mint, oversaw the engraving workshop and the creation of official dies for French coins and medals. Working alongside him was Jean-Jacques Barre, soon to succeed him as General Engraver. Barre recognized the reform as his moment to shine—and he did not hold back.

Instead of proposing a single coin, he created an entire family of bronze essais (patterns), demonstrating mastery across all denominations the public would use:

10 Centimes (1 Décime) — The showpieces of the series. Large 31mm bronze trials, struck in collaboration with Tiolier, showcasing the full ambition of the redesign.
5 Centimes — Mid-sized pieces (27–28mm) featuring a bold laureate portrait of Louis-Philippe I, typically signed “BARRE 1840.”
2 Centimes — The often-overlooked link in the sequence, a scarce 20mm pattern completing the logical progression of values.
1 Centime — A tiny 14mm coin proving Barre could maintain crisp artistry even at the smallest scale.

A Technical Triumph, A Political Casualty

Barre’s work was a technical success. Using the Mint’s new steam-powered presses, he achieved precision and circularity far superior to the old hand-struck coppers—making the revolutionary-era pieces look almost primitive by comparison.

But the project hit a wall. Recalling and replacing the entire copper currency would have been enormously expensive. The government hesitated, delayed, and ultimately allowed the project to languish in bureaucratic limbo. When officials were finally ready to revisit the idea, history intervened.

In 1848, revolution erupted. Louis-Philippe abdicated and fled to England, and any coin bearing his portrait instantly became obsolete.

A Numismatic “What If”

Because of political upheaval and administrative paralysis, the 1839–1840 copper series never entered circulation and never fulfilled their intended role of replacing the old republican and royal issues.

Today, they survive only in the trays of collectors—beautiful, technically advanced, and forever hypothetical. They stand as one of the great “what might have been” moments in French numismatic history.

Item#: 10999
Issue: Essai
France
1840 1-Centime Essai by Barre
Catalogue#: Maz-1114
Grade: NGC NGC 64
Splendid Quality
Rare

A note on quality of Obsolete Bank Notes.

Unlike regular US Government notes, bank notes were not printed on the finest of cotton-bond paper or with the best of inks. They were not meant to circulate for a long period of time or circulate throughout the nation. They usually circulated on a local or state level, and probably not more then a few years at best. They were printed on whatever paper was available at the time. On some notes one can see some of the wood or pulp chips in the paper. In some cases, they were printed on earlier notes that were no longer in use. The technology of acid-free paper was not there yet, as seen with some of our national historical documents, and paper was much scarcer than we can today imagine.

These notes had to be printed on semi-wet or moist paper, or the ink would not properly adhere. They were very labor intensive, and were printed by hand, one side at a time. They would manually ink the press, place the damp sheet in it, and run the roller over it. The sheet would be hung to dry, and the same process of wetting and printing would be repeated for the reverse. In the case where more than one color was used, the process would have to be repeated for each color. Unpurified water was used in the wetting process, thereby introducing more minerals or impurities to the paper. As a consequence, many of these notes are very difficult to locate without discoloration, color bleeding or what looks like water staining, due to the wetting process. As if that was not enough, they were individually cut with scissors or crude cutting boards, making them very difficult to find with good margins, or the design itself not cut into it.

When grading them today, the coloration, bleeding or some stains, do not deduct from the grade, for the great majority have these problems. Margins, alignment and condition of the paper itself are the main grading points. However, when finding some of these notes without many of the usual problems, one should recognize that it is not the norm. That is one of the reasons why I have virtually all of these notes certified. They get sealed in archival holders, minimizing the aging and toning effects by not being exposed to the elements, and it also gives the client reassurance as to its authenticity and grade.

Warning: I have seen some very white and super clean examples, but, upon close examination, they were nothing more than modern reproductions.