History·24 March 2026·4 min read
The French franc — currency of revolutions
From the kings of France through the Revolution to the euro, the franc crossed centuries of turbulent history.
The franc appeared in 1360 as a gold coin and became France's currency for centuries. The name comes from the Latin inscription "Francorum Rex" (king of the Franks) on the first coins.
The germinal franc
Napoleon stabilized the franc with the "germinal franc", based on gold and silver, a model copied by many countries (including the Romanian leu, via the Latin Monetary Union). The franc was replaced by the euro in 2002.
