The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1898-06-01
NAPOLEONIC LEGEND.
tRtNCHMEN BELIEVE HE HID A
FORTUNE IN A COIN.

II you happen to have in your pos
session the particular French coin
known as n 5-franc piece you may, un-
Willingly be a millionaire
Such ut least is the belief shared by
hundreds upon hundreds of credulous
frenchmen and Frenchwomeu, many
Of whom spend most of their spare time
destroying quantities OF 5-frane pieces
In the hope of realizing n fortune.
DIR. Marco Leonardo Narde2, the
well-known numismatlst. and one of
the recognized authorities on coin lore.
speaking of this curious condition of
affairs, said; at Is quite true that half
France still believes In the existnce OF
great wealth hidden In 5-franc piece,
although many numismaties hold that
the fortune in question was long ago
discovered and appropriated by one OF
the Rothsehilds family.
The story OF the strange 5-franc for
tune legend may be briefly told. s.
frame piece, to begin with. Is Il silver
coin, and Is worth about 81 Napo-
leon |. was very anxious to make the
coin a popular one. and with this end
In view he caused II To be circulated
everywhere throughout France that he
had inserted In one OF the silver
pieces before IL left the mint bank
note or order for lOo0,0 900 of these
same five francs-i e., for 81 900 900.
Whether lie really did this or not
cannot say for certain, but the weight
of evidence would seem to show that 1t
waa done. In the manuscript memoirs
of the Due de Feltie, Napoleon minister
OF war. It is expressly stated that the
emperor inclosed a note on the Bank
OF France, duly signed by the COVER
nors oftthat institution, In split o.
frame piece. that the halves were then
welded together, partially remlnted,
and thrown in heap OF similar coins,
which the emperor mixed with his own
hands These coins Napoleon took with
him in Il bag when he went to Bou-
logne and distributed lavishly en-
route even dropping some OF them out
of his carriage windows In this way
It was impossible to keep track of the
lucky coin
The news of this odd lottery spread
far and Wide and the 5-frsnc piece
leaped into immediate favor From
that day to this mutilation OF tho
coin has been common III France
Switzerland and Belgium and else
where. Every year the Bank Of
France ia requested to make good
scores of pieces split In vain search
for the 5000 00-franc bank note.
There are many stories dealing with
reputed finds OF the fol tuno. Indeed
TheRo ., 'nap.. heealaeS. !art9d4plH "iehlje
| whisper. Tlensl He must
have found Napoleon's famous coinl
Some assert that the emperor kept the
coin himself. but this hardly agrees
with Napoleon's character. SIN IL
is Il current theory that some OF the
money which enabled Napoleon III to
reach the imperial throne was found
In the lucky silver piece. which his
mother. Queen IiortenBe. had wheedled
out of her brother-In- law It was also
common talk that Gen. Boulanger had
acquired the famous coin, until tho
discovery that his money supplies came
from the Duehease d'tfxes set that be-
lief at rest.
The most likely explanation a. to
why the fYe-franc piece fails to turn
up is that Baron Ferdinand de Roth
gchild, n French member OF the great
Jewish banking house, secured It. This
account states that Baron de Roth
kchlld having Investigated the tradition
and found sufficient proof Of Its truth,
deliberately set to work to locate the
81 900. 600 note He quietly bought
In and collected every hve-franc piece
he could get, and bin agents were mott
fed 10 preserve and forward to Paris
every hve-frane piece which reached
them in Europe, Asia, Africa or Amer
lea In his Office the baron kept three
truaty men hard vi work blsectins the
coins. Some say that he had Invented
u plan for welding them together again,
30 AZ to defwy detection; others main
tain that he melted down the silver and
sold IT to the government en- bloc The
work was colossal. but in the end, tho
baron's system rs said to have con
quered He found the note for 5000
900 francs, having spent nearly Il mill
ion to obtain It. The order was duly
presented at the Bank OF France. and,
says the tradition cashed by that In
stitution.
plausible as the narration may seem
the great mass Of Frenchmen refuse to
credit it, and 30 on. year after year
splitting open their hye-franc pieces to
look for Napolaon's note. 1T is GER
tainly tuntalizlng thought that some
where In the world a check for 81 900
900 Is knocking about. hidden in an
ordinary silver coin worth barely 81.
BY possessing and opening that coin
the man worth just five francs may in
moment become a millionaire"
DR.. Marco Leonardo NardeZ admits
having opened a few vefranc pieces
himself in search OF the huge bank
!