The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1899-04-14
A FIVE FRANC PIECE.
ONE THAT IS THE HOPE OF EVERY
cREDULOUS FRENCHMAN.

The story of Napoleon's Famous Coin
and the Immense Fortune That Is
Popularity Believed to Be Conceal
ed Within 1t.
If you happen to have in your posses
sion the particular French coin known
Is a 5 franc piece, you may unwilling
" be a millionaire.
Such. at least, is the belief shared Ly
hundreds upon thousands of credulous
Frenchmen and Frenchwomen, many
Of whom spend most of their spare time
destroying quantities of 5 franc pieces
in the hope of realizing a fortune.
DR.. Marco-Leonardo Nardez, the
we'll known numismatist and M of the
recognized authorities on coin lore.
speaking of this curl GUS condition of
affairs, said:
lit is quite true that half France
still believes in the existence of great
wealth hidden in a s franc piece, al
though many numismatists hold that
the fortune in question was long ago
discovered and appropriated by n of
the ROthSchll0 family.
1.-The story CT the strange s franc
fortune legend may be briefly told. A 8
franc piece, to begin with, is a silver
coin, and is worth about 4s. ID. Napo-
leon I was very anxious to make the
coin a popular one, and with this end
in view he caused it to be circulated
everywhere throughout France that
he had inserted in one of the silver
pieces before it left the mint a bank
note or order for /. 900. 900 of these same
5 francs-roughly, about e200, 900
Whether he really did this or not can
not say for certain, but the weight of
evidence would seem tc show that it
was done.
"In the manuscript memoirs Of the
Due de Feltie, Napoleon's minister Of
war, it is expressly stated thu the en-
peror inclosed a note on the Bank of
France. duly signed by the governors Of
that institution, in a split 5 franc piece;
that the halves were then welded to-
gether, partially reminted and thrown
in a heap of similar coins, which the
emperor mixed with his own hands.
A1ICSC ~OAAS ANdpOACOA UOOh "AUu ullI III
a bag when he went to Boulogne and
distributed lavishly en- route, ever drop
ping some them out of his carriage
windows. In this way it was impossible
to keep track of the lucky coin.
1.-THE news of this odd lottery spread
far and wide, and the 5 franc piece
leaped into immediate favor. From
that 1or t,> This r,7t;1oficr ~ <hn 1osr
has been common in France. Switze!
land, Belgium and elsewhere. Every
year the Bank of France is requested to
make good scores of pieces split in a
vain search for the 5000, 900 franc
bank note.
<+There are many stories dealing with
reputed finds of the fortune. Indeed
when a man becomes suddenly rich in
France it il common to hear people
whisper. 'He must have found Napo-
Icons famous COIN
"Some assert that the emperor kept
the coin himself. but this hardly agrees
with Napoleon's character. Still it is a
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 Hortense, had wheedled out Of
her brother-in-law.
lit was also common talk that Gen.
eral Boulanger had acquired the famous
coin until the discovery that his money
supplies came. from the Duchess Dues
set that belief at rest.
"The most likely explanation as to
why the 5 franc piece fails to turn up
is that Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild,
a French member of the great Jewish
banking house, secured it. This account
states that Baron de Rothschild, having
investigated the tradition and found
sufficient proof Of it's truth, deliberate
ly set to W to locate the note.
"He quietly bought in and collected
every 5 fra piece he could get, and
his agents v ere notified to preserve and
forward to Paris every 5 franc piee
which reached them in Europe. Asia.
Africa or America. In his office II
baron kept three trusty men hard at
work bisecting the coins.
"Some say that he had invented a
plan for welding them together again,
so as to defy detection; others maintain
that he melted down the silver and
cold it to the government Ell bloc. The
work was colossal, but in the end the
baron's sytem is said to have conquered.
HE found the note for s, 1000. 900
francs, having spent nearly /, 600. 900 to
obtain it. The order was duly presented
at the Bank of France and cashed by
that institution.
"Plausible as this narration may
seem, the great mass Of Frenchmen re-
fuse to credit it. and go on, year after
year, splitting open their s franc pieces
to look for Napoleon's note. It is GER
tainly d ~tantalizing thought that some
where in the world a check for e40O,
900 is knocking about hidden in an or
binary silver coin worth less than 5 chill
4s-no - nonu,~-tc vLYo,1vl-