The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1899-06-14

A FIVE FRANC PIECE.
ONE THAT is THE HOPE OF EVERY
cseoulouS FRENcHMAN.

The story of NapoIeon's Famou. Coin
and the Immense Fortune That Is
Popularity Believed to he conceaI-
ed within IL.
If you happen to have in your possess
sion the particular French coin known
as ) franc piece, you may unwilling
ly be millionaire
Such. at least is the belief shared hy
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 fortune.
DIR. Marco-Leonardo Nardez. the
well known numismatist and one of the
recognized authorities on coin lore.
speaking of this curl ous condition of
affairs said
ut is quite true that half France
still believes in the existence of great
wealth hidden in a franc piece, al
though many numisnatists held that
the fortune in question was loi & ago
discovered and appropriated By one of
the Rothschiid family
1.-THE story Ct tho strange 5 franc
fortune legend may be briefly told. A 5
franc piece, to begin with. is a silver
coin, and is worth about 4s. 81. Napo-
leon was very anxious to make the
coin 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 bank
note or order for l, 900, 600 of these same
. francs rcu ghly, about e2o0, 000
Whether he really did this or not can
not say FOR certain. but the weight of
evidence would seem to show that it
was done
In the manuscript memoirs of the
Duc de Feltie, Napoleon s minister of
war. it is expressly stated that the EN-
peror inel9srd note on the Bank of
France duly signed by the governors CT
that institution. in split franc piece
that the halves were then welded to-
gether partially reminted and thrown
in heap of similar coins. which the
emperor mixed with his own hancs
These coins Napoleon took with hiia "a
Ing when he went to Bonlogno and
distribrtcu lavishly en- roate. even drop
ping sone Of them out Of his carriage
windows in this way il was impossible
TO keep trec; of tie lucky coin
Tho news Of this odd lottery spread
far and wide. and the $ franc piece
leaped into Immediate favor From
that day TO this mneilstion of the coin
has been common in France. Switzer
land. Baleiani and elsewhere Ey.rv
year the i3sriof France is requested to
mike good scores Of piece. split in
vain search for the 5000. coo franc
barr n.tc
~. ezss r. may stories dealing with
reautcd In u Of The fortune. Indeed
when u ngA becomes eaaaeniy rich in
France il is common 80 hear i.apIe
whisn He must have found Marc.
leon = tIsaes coin.
''Soiae assert that the emperor kep;
the coin hiuself, but this Hardly a~Tes
with Napoleon's character. Still It Is
current theory that some of the inoaey
which enabled Napoleon III to reich
the imperial throne was found in the
lucky silver piece. which his mother,
Queen Hortense. had whoedled out of
her brother-in-law
st was also common talk that Gen
eral Boulanger had acauircd the famous
coin until the discovery hat his money
supplies cane from the Duchess d Uzes
set that belief at rest.
THE most likely explanation as TO
why the 5 franc niece fails to turn mn
is that Baron Ferdinand dc Rothschiil.
a French member of the great Jewish
baneiny house. secured ii. This account
states that Baron de Rothschild, having
Investigated the tradition and found
sufficient proof of its truth deliberate
ly set to work 10 locate the note.
she qniotly bought in and collected
every . franc piece he could get. and
his agents were notified TO preserve and