franc
Franc ( French , in German: Franconia ) is a denomination of coins and currencies from France that has spread to other francophone countries.
The name goes back to the motto Francorum Rex ("King of the Franks"), which was found on coins that were first minted in 1360 as a ransom for the liberation of King John . In the late Middle Ages , at the time of the Hundred Years War , a gold coin with the name Franc d'or was minted in France . In the 16th and 17th centuries , the franc was a silver coin (Franc d'argent) . In 1795 , the French franc was introduced as a unified, decimally divided currency (1 franc = 100 centimes). The currency denomination then spread to other European countries and French colonies . The gold franc served in the League of Nations and, from 1920, in the Universal Postal Union as an international accounting unit.
Today the franc can be found in the following countries:
- Switzerland and Liechtenstein (French name), see Swiss Francs
- Burundi , see Burundi Franc
- Djibouti , see Djibouti Franc
- Democratic Republic of the Congo , see Congo Franc
- Guinea , see Guinea Franc
- Comoros , see Comoros franc
- Rwanda , see Rwandan Franc
- Equatorial Guinea , Benin , Burkina Faso , Ivory Coast , Gabon , Guinea-Bissau , Cameroon , Congo , Mali , Niger , Senegal , Togo , Chad , Central African Republic , see CFA Franc
- French Polynesia , New Caledonia , Wallis and Futuna , see CFP Franc
In addition, the Swiss franc is legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia and accepted tender in the German exclave Büsingen .
Historical currencies
Until the introduction of the euro , the franc was also the currency in
- Andorra (French Franc, shared with the Spanish Peseta )
- Belgium (French name), see Belgian franc
- France , see French Franc
- Luxembourg , see Luxembourg Franc
- Monaco , see Monegasque Franc
Until the Saarland joined the Federal Republic of Germany , the Saarland franc was the currency there.
From 1960 to 1963, the Katanga Franc was the currency of the secessionist Katanga .
The Belgian Rwanda-Urundi trust territory introduced the Rwanda-Burundi franc in 1960 , which was used in Rwanda and Burundi until 1964.
The New Hebrides condominium, administered jointly by France and Great Britain , used the New Hebrides franc from 1906 to 1980 ( Vanuatu until the introduction of the Vatu in 1982) .
The Malagasy Franc was replaced by the Ariary as the official currency of Madagascar on January 1, 2005 .
Mali used the Mali Franc from 1962 to 1984 , but did not officially leave the CFA Franc zone .
Other franc currencies existed in the former French overseas territories Algeria (1848–1964), Tunisia (1891–1960), Morocco (1921–1974) and the overseas department of Réunion (1946–1974).
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Federal Association of German Banks: European Currencies: Money Tells History. ( Memento from September 20, 2002 in the Internet Archive ).