Description

Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (born Charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte; 1808–1873) was the only President (1848–52) of the French Second Republic and, as Napoleon III, the Emperor (1852–70) of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I. He was the first President of France to be elected by a direct popular vote. He was blocked by the Constitution and Parliament from running for a second term, so he organized a coup d'état in 1851 and then took the throne as Napoleon III on 2 December 1852, the forty-eighth anniversary of Napoleon I's coronation. He remains the longest-serving French head of state since the French Revolution.

Beginning in 1866, Napoleon had to face the mounting power of Prussia, as Chancellor Otto von Bismarck sought German unification under Prussian leadership. In July 1870, Napoleon entered the Franco-Prussian War without allies and with inferior military forces. The French army was rapidly defeated and Napoleon III was captured at the Battle of Sedan. The French Third Republic was proclaimed in Paris, and Napoleon went into exile in England, where he died in 1873.

Engraver: Jacques-Jean Barre

Obverse

Bare head of Napoleon III right, surrounded by his title. Engraver's name surrounded by the privy marks of Chief Engravers (left) and Mint Director (right) below.

Mint Director
• Charles-Louis Dierickx (1845-1860): hand
• Renouard de Bussière (1860-1879): bee
• Jean Moine (1848-1858, Lyon Mint): lion

Chief Engravers
• Jacques-Jean Barre (1843-1855), dog’s head
• Désiré-Albert Barre (1855-1878): anchor

NAPOLEON III EMPEREUR
BARRE

Reverse

Denomination and date within wreath, state name above, mintmark below.

EMPIRE FRANCAIS
20
FRANCS
1854
A

Edge

God Protect France

DIEU PROTEGE LA FRANCE

20 Francs

2nd Empire
KM# 781
Characteristics
Material Gold
Fineness 0.900
Weight 6.45161 g
Diameter 21 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Alt # KM# 781.1, KM# 781.2, KM# 781.3
Mints
Lyon Mint (D)
Paris Mint (A)
Strasbourg Mint (BB)

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