1871 French 10 Centime Key Ring

Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, nephew to Napoléon I, was unseated in 1870 and his regime replaced by the French Third Republic. National engravers of the time feared the traditional portrait bust of Liberty in her phrygian cap might be a little too evocative of bloody times and civic upheavel. Hence this portrait on the bronze 10 centime coin represented Cérès, Roman goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships. It is signed by the engraver, Eugene Andre Oudiné (1810-1887). One million two hundred thousand were struck between 1871 and 1898. PERMISSIONS: this coin is nearly 140 years old and is no longer legal tender of France, which joined the Euro in 1999.