The scene on the obverse shows the Oath of the Federation, the first anniversary of which was celebrated by the Festival of the Federation on 14 July 1790. The Festival, which included a mass held by the great French statesman Talleyrand (1754-1838), then the Bishop of Autun, also commemorated the taking of the Bastille and the bond uniting the nation, the king, and the people. Generally, this type coin is common. However, this first type of 1791, minted by Matthew Boulton at his steam powered mint in Soho, Birmingham, England, is very rare at the first of many die varieties. This first issue type features a Roman Numeral Date and a Revolutionary date system of L'AN III.