5 centimes - Lindauer - Smallest

The first French hole coins date from 1914, but several coins of this type already existed elsewhere in the world (in Belgium for example) and in the French colonies (in Indochina since 1896).
After a first test strike in nickel in 1914, the coin was actually produced for circulation in 1917 in cupronickel. In order to easily differentiate it from the 10 centime coins, 2 millimeters wider, its diameter and weight were reduced during 1920. That year both variants existed, with a large predominance of the large module.
From 1922 to 1924, part of the production was carried out in Poissy and Vincennes and the coins thus produced bear the mintmark "Thunderbolt" instead of the mintmark "Cornucopia".
The 1929 vintage is documented but no copy has been listed and is often excluded from reference works.
In 1938 the alloy was modified to nickel silver (replacing the nickel with a part of zinc) and lightened again. That same year, a variant with the star between the R and the F was produced in confidential quantities.
These coins are still easily found in all states of conservation (including FDC), with a slight difficulty for the years 1925 to 1927.

Indicative availability:
1920 small module: 0.5%; 1927: 2%; 1938 star: 0.02%.