Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1899-04-21
. FIVE FRANC PIECE.
ONE THAT IS The HOPE OF EVERY
cREpuLoUs FRENchMAN.
The story Of xapoleo..s Famous Col.
and the Immense Fortune That 10
Popularity Believed to BE Conceal
ed Within II.

F0poAof1y BeIteve0 to he
ed Within 1t.
If you happen to have in your posses
sion the particular French coin known
rs a s franc piece. you may unwilling
ly be a millionaire.
Such, at least. is the belief shared by |
hundreds upon thousands of credulous
and Frenchwomen, many
Of whom spend most of their spare time
destroying quantities of S franc pieces
in the hope Of realizing a fortune.
DR.. Marco-Leonardo Nardez, the
well known numismatist and M of the
recognized authorities on coin lore.
speaking Of this curious condition of
affairs. said:
cit 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 one Of
the Rothschild family.
"The story CT the strange 5 franc
fortune legend may be briefly told. A 8
franc piece, to begin with. is a silver
coin, and is worth about As ID. Napo-
leon ! vas 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 II order for 1. 600, 900 of these same
S francs-roughly, about esOO,O0O
Whether he really did this or not I can-
not say for certain, but the weight Of
evidence would seem to show that it
was done.
I'm the manuscript memoirs. of the
Due de Feltie, Napoleon's minister Of
war, it is expressly stated that the en-
peror inclosed a note on the Bank of
France. duly signed by the governors Of
that institution. in a split s 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.
These coins Napoleon took with him in
a bag when he went to Boulogne and
distributed lavishly en- route, even drop
ping some Of 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 s franc piece
leaped into immediate favor. From
that day to this mutilation of the coin
has been common in France, Switzer-
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 8 1000. 600 franc
bank note.
"There are many stories dealing with
reputed finds Of the fortune. Indeed
when a man becomes suddenly rich in
France it is common to hear people
whisper. He must have found Napo-
Icons famous CON-
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 tho
lucky silver piece. which his mother,
Queen Hortense, had wheedled out Of
her brother-in-law.
ut vas also common talk that Gem
eral Boulanger had acquired the famous
coin until the discovery that his money
supplies came from the Duchess Dues
set that belief at rest.
: 1.-THE most likely explanation a. to
why the'5 franc piece fails to turn up
il that Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild,
q 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 its truth, deliberate
~ set to work to locate the note.
"He quietly bought in and collected
every 8 franc piece he could get. and
his agents were notified to preserve and
forward to Paris every s franc piece
which reached them in Europe, Asia,
Africa or America. In his od1ce the
baron kept three trusty men hard ct
work bisecting the coins
''some say that he had invented .
plan for welding them together again,
90 ID to defy detection; others maintain
that he melted down the silver and
,sold it to the government q ihloc The
work was colossal. hut In the ead;th
baron's sytem 10 said to have conquered
"He found the note for I, 000. 900
francs. having spentnearly I. 900. 600 TO
obtain Il. The order was dulypresented
at the Bank Of France and cashed ~
that institutidl
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