Thefrancis any of various units ofcurrency.One franc is typically divided into 100centimes.The name is said to derive from theLatininscriptionfrancorum rex(King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th century, or from the Frenchfranc,meaning "frank" (and "free" in certain contexts, such ascoup franc,"free kick" ).
The countries that use francs today include Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and most ofFrancophone Africa.TheSwiss francis a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swissfinancial institutions.
Before the introduction of theeuroin 1999, francs were also used in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, while Andorra and Monaco accepted theFrench francaslegal tender(Monégasque franc). The franc was also used inFrench coloniesincluding Algeria and Cambodia. The franc is sometimes Italianised or Hispanicised as thefranco,for instance inLuccan franco.
Origins
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The franc was originally a Frenchgoldcoin of 3.87 g minted in 1360 on the occasion of the release of KingJohn II ( "the Good" ),held by the English since his capture at theBattle of Poitiersfour years earlier. It was equivalent to onelivre tournois(Tours pound).
French franc
editTheFrench francwas originally 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[3](franc coins and notes were legal tender until 2002). Though abolished as a legal coin by KingLouis XIIIin 1641 in favor of the goldlouisand silverécu,the term franc continued to be used in common parlance for thelivre 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 theeuroat 1 euro = 6.55957 FRF on 31 December 1998, and after theintroduction of the euronotes and coins, ceased to be legal tender after 28 February 2002, although they were still exchangeable at banks until 19 February 2012.[4]
CFA and CFP francs
editFourteen African countries use thefranc 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.[5]
A separate (franc CFP) circulates inFrance's Pacific territories,worth €0.0084 (formerly 0.055 French franc).
Comorian franc
editIn 1981, theComorosestablished an arrangement with the French government similar to that of the CFA franc. Originally, 50Comorian francswere 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.
Belgian franc and Luxembourg franc
editThe 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 Luxembourgish franc in 1848 and Switzerland in 1850. Newly unified Italy adopted theliraon a similar basis in 1862.
In 1865, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy created theLatin Monetary Union(to be joined by Spain and Greece in 1868): each would possess a national currency unit (franc, lira, peseta, drachma) worth 4.5 g of silver or0.290322gof 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, thebelgaof 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 and formed the basis for full economic union in 1932.
Like the French franc, the Belgian and Luxembourg francs ceased to exist on 1 January 1999, when they became fixed at 1 EUR = 40.3399 BEF/LUF, thus a Belgian or Luxembourg franc was worth €0.024789. Old franc coins and notes lost their legal tender status on 28 February 2002.
One Luxembourg franc was equal to one Belgian franc. Belgian francs were legal tender inside Luxembourg, and Luxembourg francs were legal tender in the whole of Belgium. (In reality, Luxembourg francs were only accepted as means of payment by shops and businesses in the Belgian province of Luxembourg adjacent to the independent Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, this for historical reasons.)
The equivalent name of the Belgian franc in Dutch and German, Belgium's other official languages, wasfrank.As mentioned before, in Luxembourg the franc was calledFrang(pluralFrangen) inLuxembourgish.
Swiss franc and Liechtenstein franc
editTheSwiss franc(ISO code:CHF or 756;German:Franken;Italian:franco), which appreciated significantly against the new European currency from April to September 2000, remains one of the world's strongest currencies, worth as of August 2023[update]just over one euro. The Swiss franc is used in Switzerland and in Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein retains the ability to mint its own currency, theLiechtenstein franc,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 inLatin(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.
Saar franc
editTheSaar franc,linked at par to the French franc, was introduced in theSaar Protectoratein 1948. On 1 January 1957, the territory joined theFederal Republic of Germany,nevertheless, in its newmember stateofSaarland,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, wasFranken.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.
Countries that use a franc
editCountries using a franc
editAs of 2023
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Collectivities franc
edit| Countries | Currency | ISO 4217code |
|---|---|---|
 French Polynesia
|
CFP franc | XPF |
 New Caledonia
| ||
 Wallis and Futuna
|
Selected obsolete
edit| Countries | Former currency | Replaced by | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
 Algeria |
Algerian franc | Algerian dinar | 1964 |
 Andorra |
French francandSpanish peseta | euro | 2002 |
 Belgium |
Belgian franc | ||
| France(Overseas collectivities) |
French franc | ||
 Luxembourg |
Luxembourgish franc | ||
 Madagascar |
Malagasy franc | Malagasy ariary | 2005 |
 Mauritania |
CFA franc | Mauritanian ouguiya | 1973 |
 Monaco |
French francandMonégasque franc | euro | 2002 |
 Morocco |
Moroccan franc | Moroccan dirham | 1960 |
 Saar |
Saar franc(used from 1947 -1959) | Deutsche Mark | 1959 |
 Tunisia |
Tunisian franc | Tunisian dinar | 1958 |
See also
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- Cape Verdean escudo
- Latin Monetary Union
- The Latverian franc is the currency of the fictional country ofLatveria.
- Special settlement currencies
- Livre tournois(French pound)
- Roman currency
- New Hebrides franc
- Westphalian frank
- Reunion franc
References
edit- ^L. Ciani, Les Mones Royales Françaises (1926) p.77 and p.92
- ^L. Ciani, Les Monnaies Royales Françaises (1926) p.314 and p.356
- ^Norwich, John J. (2018).A History of France.John Murray Publishers. p. 232.ISBN978-0-8021-4777-6.
- ^Harris, Elinor (April 20, 1954)."The Value of the French Franc"(PDF).Federal Reserve.
- ^"West Africa renames CFA franc but keeps it pegged to euro".Reuters. Archived fromthe originalon 22 December 2019.Retrieved22 December2019.
External links
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Media related toFrancat Wikimedia Commons
