Charles-Louis Napolean Bonaparte (Napoleon III), 1851-A

KM 762; Friedberg 566, PCGS graded PR-68 Cameo

The Revolution of 1848 drove out Louis-Philippe in February and replaced the French constitutional monarchy with a provisional government known as the Second Republic. This was primarily founded on the liberal social principles of universal male suffrage and the right to work, but suffered from conflict between supporters of extreme republicanism and it its more moderate proponents. In order to combat unemployment and hunger, the Second Republic initially instituted National Workshops that guaranteed employment and a daily wage through new taxes imposed on landowners, but these were shut down on June 23, 1848 after the taxes funding them were scrapped by more conservative elements of the National Assembly. This resulted in the bloody June Days uprising that ended in the deaths of some 3,000 insurgents as well as Archbishop Denis-Auguste Affre, who had attempted to restore calm. Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain and agriculture, was prominent on the coinage of the Second Republic, was a propagandistic symbol of agricultural wealth and much-desired bread at a time when many, particularly in Paris lacked the means to feed themselves and their families. The type is modeled after classical Greek depictions of Kore-Persephone found on the tetradrachms of Syracuse.

Paris. Head of Ceres right, wreathed with grain ears. Reverse: Denomination within wreath; date below.

Ex CNG/St. James (1 August 2014), 409