French franc

French franc
franc français (French)
50 and 100 francs200 and 500 francs
ISO 4217
CodeFRF
(1960–2002)
Unit
Unitfranc
SymbolF or Fr‎ (briefly also NF during the 1960s; also unofficially FF and )
Nicknameballes (1 F);[1][n 1] sacs (10 F); bâton, brique, patate, plaque (10,000 F)
Denominations
Subunit
1100centime
Banknotes
 Freq. used20 F, 50 F, 100 F, 200 F, 500 F
Coins
 Freq. used5, 10, 20 centimes, 12 F, 1 F, 2 F, 5 F, 10 F
 Rarely used1 centime, 20 F, 50 F
Demographics
User(s)None, previously:
 France
 Monaco
 Andorra (until 2002)
Issuance
Central bankBanque de France
 Websitewww.banque-france.fr
MintMonnaie de Paris
 Websitewww.monnaiedeparis.com
Valuation
Pegged byKMF, XAF & XOF, XPF, ADF, MCF
EU Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM)
Since13 March 1979
Fixed rate since31 December 1998
Replaced by euro, non cash1 January 1999
Replaced by euro, cash1 March 2002
1 € =6.55957 F
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.

The franc (/fræŋk/; French: franc français, [fʁɑ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛ]; sign: F or Fr),[n 2] also commonly distinguished as the French franc (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It was reintroduced (in decimal form) in 1795. After two centuries of inflation, it was redenominated in 1960, with each new franc (NF) being worth 100 old francs. The NF designation was continued for a few years before the currency returned to being simply the franc. Many French residents, though, continued to quote prices of especially expensive items in terms of the old franc (equivalent to the new centime), up to and even after the introduction of the euro (for coins and banknotes) in 2002.[4] The French franc was a commonly held international reserve currency of reference in the 19th and 20th centuries. Between 1998 and 2002, the conversion of francs to euros was carried out at a rate of 6.55957 francs to 1 euro.

  1. ^ de Goncourt, E. & J. (1860), Charles Demailly, p. 107.
  2. ^ Haralambous, Yannis (2007), Fonts & Encodings, p. 78.
  3. ^ Balladur, Édouard (1988), Un symbole pour le franc.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference anciens was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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