The 1848 Monetary Design Competition for the French 10 CentimesCoin

In 1848, following the fall of King Louis-Philippe, the newly formed French Second Republic sought to remove royal imagery from its currency. To mark the beginning of a new political era, the Ministry of Finance announced a major public design competition on May 3, 1848, for three denominations: the 20-francs, 5-francs, and 10-centimes coins. The goal was to create a distinctly republican coinage—one that would establish a new visual identity for the Republic.

Competition Requirements for the 10 Centimes

Artists submitting a 10-centimes pattern were required to provide mint officials with:

• All dies
• All hubs
• All matrices
• All obverse and reverse designs

The winner would receive 10,000 francs and be obligated to revise the design according to jury instructions. He would also be commissioned to design additional denominations. Second and third place winners received 1,000 francs each; all other participants received nothing and were responsible for their own production costs.

Clarifying the “Republican” Style

The initial call for designs caused confusion among many medallists. What exactly did the Ministry mean by a “republican” design? A follow-up edict on May 18, 1848, clarified the expectations:

• Artists must invent, not imitate
• The Republic needed a new female personification
• The Phrygian cap was optional, not mandatory
• Classical symbols could be used only if reinterpreted creatively

By the registration deadline, 45 artists had entered the competition. Ultimately, 32 submitted 10-centimes essais/patterns by the extended deadline of October 31, 1848.

The Jury and the Outcome

The jury consisted of 11 members, with 9 holding voting seats—many of them prominent artists in their own right. On November 25, 1848, with several jurors absent, the jury selected winners for all denominations. This decision angered many competitors.

Despite the controversy, word quickly spread about the striking new designs. Collector enthusiasm was so strong that 161 complete tin sets of all submitted patterns were produced.

Many losing artists protested, arguing that the vote was invalid because not all jurors were present. After months of correspondence, the Ministry allowed them to reclaim their dies for private strikes intended for collectors and medallic use.

Aftermath and Abandonment of the 10 Centimes Design

Due to disputes among government officials, minting of the new 20-francs and 5-francs coins did not begin until September 1849. By then, political conditions had shifted, but the coins still entered circulation using Oudiné’s republican design.

Domard’s 10-centimes design, however, never reached production. Delays pushed the project into a new political climate—one dominated by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte’s rise to power. After his presidential victory and subsequent coup d’état establishing the Second Empire, new coins bearing his image were minted, eliminating any need for Domard’s republican 10-centimes type.