| 11st | Top historical currencies |
| Franc | |
|---|---|
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| 1 Swiss franc 1983 | |
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| 1 French franc 1991 | |
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| 1 Belgian franc 1996 | |
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| 1 Luxembourg franc 1990 | |
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| 1 Monegasque franc 1978 | |
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| 100 Saar francs 1956 | |
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the French franc, the currency of France until it adopted the euro in 1999 (by law, 2002 de facto), and the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription francorum rex ("King of the Franks") on early French coins, or from the French franc, meaning "free" (and "frank").
The countries that use francs include Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and most of the Francophone countries of Africa. Before the introduction of the euro, francs were also used in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, while Andorra and Monaco accepted the French franc as legal tender (Monegasque franc). The franc was also used within the French Empire's colonies, including Algeria and Cambodia. The franc is sometimes italianised or hispanicised as the Franco, for instance in Luccan Franco.
One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The French franc symbol was an F with a line through it (₣).
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The franc was originally a French gold coin of 3.87 g minted in 1360 on the occasion of the release of King John II ("the good"), held by the English since his capture at the Battle of Poitiers four years earlier. It was equivalent to one livre tournois (Tours pound).
The French franc was the name of a gold coin issued in France from 1360 until 1380[1], then a silver coin issued between 1575 and 1641[2]. The franc finally became the national currency from 1795 until 1999 (franc coins and notes were legal tender until 2002). Though abolished as a legal coin by Louis XIII in 1641 in favor of the gold louis and silver écu, the term franc continued to be used in common parlance for the livre tournois. The franc was also minted for many of the former French colonies, such as Morocco, Algeria, French West Africa, and others. Today, after independence, many of these countries continue to use the franc as their standard denomination.
The value of the French franc was locked to the euro at 1 euro = 6.55957 FRF on 31 December 1998, and after the introduction of the euro notes and coins, ceased to be legal tender after 28 February 2002 (although still exchangeable at banks).
Fourteen African countries use the franc CFA (in west Africa, Communauté financière africaine; in equatorial Africa, Coopération financière en Afrique centrale), originally (1945) worth 1.7 French francs and then from 1948, 2 francs (from 1960: 0.02 new franc) but after January 1994 worth only 0.01 French franc. Therefore, from January 1999, 1 CFA franc is equivalent to €0.00152449.
A separate (franc CFP) circulates in France's Pacific territories, worth €0.0084 (formerly 0.055 French franc).
In 1981, The Comoros established an arrangement with the French government similar to that of the CFA franc. Originally, 50 Comorian francs were worth 1 French franc. In January 1994, the rate was changed to 75 Comorian francs to the French franc. Since 1999, the currency has been pegged to the euro.
The conquest of most of western Europe by Revolutionary and Napoleonic France led to the franc's wide circulation. Following independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the new Kingdom of Belgium in 1832 adopted its own Belgian franc, equivalent to the French one, followed by Luxembourg adopting the Luxembourg franc in 1848 and Switzerland in 1850. Newly unified Italy adopted the lira on a similar basis in 1862.
In 1865, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy created the Latin Monetary Union (to be joined by Greece in 1868): each would possess a national currency unit (franc, lira, drachma) worth 4.5 g of silver or 0.290322 g of gold (fine), all freely exchangeable at a rate of 1:1. In the 1870s the gold value was made the fixed standard, a situation which was to continue until 1914.
In 1926 Belgium as well as France experienced depreciation and an abrupt collapse of confidence, leading to the introduction of a new gold currency for international transactions, the belga of 5 francs, and the country's withdrawal from the monetary union, which ceased to exist at the end of the year. The 1921 monetary union of Belgium and Luxembourg survived, however, forming the basis for full economic union in 1932.
Like the French franc, the Belgian/Luxemburgese franc ceased to exist in 1 January 1999, when it became fixed at 1 EUR = 40.3399 BEF/LUF, thus a franc was worth €0.024789. Old franc coins and notes lost their legal tender status in 28 February 2002.
1 Luxembourg franc was equal to 1 Belgian franc. Belgian francs were legal tender inside Luxembourg, and Luxembourg francs were legal tender in Belgium.
The equivalent name of the Belgian franc in Dutch, Belgium's other official language, was "Belgische Frank".
The Swiss franc (ISO code: CHF or 756), which appreciated significantly against the new European currency from April to September 2000, remains one of the world's strongest currencies, worth today around two-thirds of a euro. The Swiss franc is used in Switzerland and in Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein retains the ability to mint its own currency, the Liechtenstein frank, which it does from time to time for commemorative or emergency purposes.
The name of the country "Swiss Confederation" is found on some of the coins in Latin (Confoederatio Helvetica), as Switzerland has four official languages, all of which are used on the notes. The denomination is abbreviated "Fr" on the coins which is the abbreviation in all four languages.
The Saar franc, linked at par to the French franc, was introduced in the Saar Protectorate in 1948. On 1 January 1957, the territory joined the Federal Republic of Germany, nevertheless, in its new member state of Saarland, the Saar franc continued to be the currency until 6 July 1959.
The name of the Saar franc in German, the main official language in the Protectorate, was Franken. Coins displaying German inscriptions and the coat of arms of the Protectorate were circulated and used together with French francs. As banknotes, only French Franc bills existed.
FRANC, a French coin current at different periods and of varying values. The first coin so called was one struck in gold by John II. of France in 1360. On it was the legend Johannes Dei gracia Francorum rex; hence, it is said, the name. It also bore an effigy of King John on horseback, from which it was called a franc a cheval, to distinguish it from another coin of the same value, issued by Charles V., on which the king was represented standing upright under a Gothic dais; this coin was termed a franc a pied. As a coin it disappeared after the reign of Charles VI., but the name continued to be used as an equivalent for the livre tournois, which was worth twenty sols. French writers would speak without distinction of so many livres or so many francs, so long as the sum mentioned was an even sum; otherwise livre was the correct term, thus "trois livres" or "trois francs," but "trois livres cinq sols." In 1795 the livre was legally converted into the franc, at the rate of 8r livres to 80 francs, the silver franc being made to weigh exactly five grammes. The franc is now the unit of the monetary system and also the money of account in France, as well as in Belgium and Switzerland. In Italy the equivalent is the lira, and in Greece the drachma. The franc is divided into 100 centimes, the lira into loo centesimi and the drachma into 100 lepta. Gold is now the standard, the coins in common use being ten and twenty franc pieces. The twenty franc gold piece weighs 6.4516 grammes, 900 fine. The silver coins are five, two, one, and half franc pieces. The five franc silver piece weighs 25 grammes, .900 fine, while the franc piece weighs 5 grammes, 835 fine. See also Money.
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