Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 5 Francs 1983-2018, KM# 16, New Caledonia
  • 5 Francs 1983-2018, KM# 16, New Caledonia
  • 5 Francs 1983-2018, KM# 16, New Caledonia, Mint marks from 2003
Description

New Caledonia (French: Nouvelle-Calédonie) is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,210 km (750 mi) east of Australia and 16,136 km (10,026 mi) east of Metropolitan France.

Engraver: Lucien Georges Bazor

Obverse

Seated Marianne with torch and cornucopia right, surrounded by the country name (French Republic) above, date below. Engraver's name lower right. Mintmarks are from both sides of date or on both sides of Marianne starting from 2003.

The Institut d'émission d'outre-mer (IEOM) issues the CFP Franc, the currency of the French overseas collectivities French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna.

Marianne is a national symbol of the French Republic, an allegory of liberty and reason, and a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. It is a significant republican symbol, opposed to monarchy, and an icon of freedom and democracy against all forms of dictatorship.

The Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, associated in antiquity with several peoples in Eastern Europe and Anatolia, including Phrygia, Dacia, and the Balkans. In early modern Europe it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty through a confusion with the pileus, the felt cap of manumitted (emancipated) slaves of ancient Rome. Accordingly, the Phrygian cap sometimes is called a liberty cap.

Mintmark of the Paris Mint (Monnaie de Paris in Pessac): Cornucopia (horn of plenty)

The directors of the Paris Mint use the following mint master's marks:
1974–1994: Dolphin (Emile Rousseau)
1994–2000: Bee (Pierre Rodier)
2001–2002: Horseshoe (Gérard Buquoy)
2003: Heart (Serge Levet)
2004–2010: Hunting horn (Hubert Larivière)
2011–preset: Pentagon (Yves Sampo)

REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE
I•E• O•M•
G.B.BAZOR
1986

Reverse

Depicts a kagu bird within sprigs, value above, the territory name (New Caledonia) below.

The kagu or cagou (Rhynochetos jubatus) is a crested, long-legged, and bluish-grey bird endemic to the dense mountain forests of New Caledonia. It is the only surviving member of the genus Rhynochetos and the family Rhynochetidae. Measuring 55 cm (22 in) in length, it has pale grey plumage and bright red legs. Its 'nasal corns' are a unique feature not shared with any other bird. Almost flightless, it spends its time on or near the ground, where it hunts its invertebrate prey, and builds a nest of sticks on the forest floor. Both parents share incubation of a single egg, as well as rearing the chick. It has proven vulnerable to introduced predators, and is threatened with extinction.

5
FRANCS
NOUVELLE CALEDONIE

Edge

5 Francs

KM# 16 Schön# 12
Characteristics
Material Aluminium
Weight 3.75 g
Diameter 31 mm
Thickness 2.32 mm
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
Paris Mint (A)

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