Editing Napoléon (coin) (section)

==First authorized by the Monetary Ordinance of 28 March 1803==
Napoleon tried to unify Europe and almost succeeded, especially in terms of the coinage.<ref>[https://or.fr/guide-investisseur/napoleon-20-francs-louis-dor The Coins of Napoleon<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The '''Napoleon''' coin was first authorized by a Monetary Ordinance of 28 March 1803 by the Premier Consul (First Consul) [[Napoleon Bonaparte]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www10.finances.gouv.fr/fonds_documentaire/euro2002/pieces_billets/changem.htm |title=Les changements de monnaies de Charlemagne à nos jours<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=3 October 2007 |archive-date=14 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090914123638/http://www.finances.gouv.fr/fonds_documentaire/euro2002/pieces_billets/changem.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The 20 franc gold pieces which he authorized in 1803, became the model of all the coins of the [[Latin Monetary Union]] which circulated in Europe until 1914. The French coin carries the effigy, in profile, Napoleon, who would later become the French Emperor. The coins had the same value as the Louis, which bears the likeness of the pre-French Revolution King [[Louis XIV]]. For Napoleon, there were ostensibly seven types or varieties of the coins minted. In general the varieties differed in terms of obverse legend, reverse legends, portraiture, and calendaring system. For each variety, there was a new enabling statute or executive decree: 28 March 1803; 7 April 1803; 26 June 1804; 8 September 1805; 11 February 1807; 5 August 1807; and 22 October 1808. By extension, the term ''Napoleon'' is applied today to all the various types of 20 franc French gold pieces.

==="The Euro before the Euro"===
Although the portraits and legends changed with the political changes in France, the denomination remained in usage until [[World War I]] under what was known as the [[Latin Monetary Union]], the "Euro before the Euro", so-to-speak. Switzerland had 20 [[Swiss franc]] pieces, Spain had 20 [[Spanish peseta|peseta]] coins, Italy had 20 [[Italian lira|lira]] pieces, Belgium had 20 [[Belgian franc]] coins, and Greece had 20 [[Modern drachma|drachma]] coins, all of which circulated and were accepted throughout Europe. Only for political reasons did the United Kingdom and the [[German Empire]] refuse to follow this direction. Attempts were even taken to explore the unification of the European currency with the American dollar, which explains the extremely rare [[Stella (United States coin)|U.S. pattern coins]] carrying $4 marking on the face and 25 franc markings on the reverse.{{Citation needed|reason=No sources cited; paragraph is at odds with the Latin Monetary Union page|date=February 2014}}

[[File:An XI Obv.JPG|frame|Obverse of the Bonaparte Premier Consul struck in 1803 at Paris, the first year of issue. Note the youthful portrait of Napoleon and compare to later issues reflecting contemporaneous appearances of the Emperor. Engravers: Jean-Pierre Droz (1746–1823) & Pierre-Joseph Tiolier (1763–1819).]]
[[File:An XI Rev.JPG|frame|Reverse of the same coin 1803 Paris (AN XI indicates the 11th year after the French Revolution, or the latter part of 1803). A coin not often seen (58,262 were minted), this example exhibits Extra Fine details for a 206-year-old coin. The "A" denotes the Paris mint and the rooster denotes the mint master Charles-Pierre de l'Espine (1797–1821). Napoleon ordered coins struck in year 11 to be dated with Roman numerals fearing that Arabic numeral eleven would look like a two in Roman numerals and thus remind the public of the horrors of the Reign of Terror which occurred in the year 2.<ref>Pond, S., Napoleon Emperor of the French Republic, Selections from the Numismatist, Modern Foreign Currency, Whitman Publishing Company, Racine, Wis., 1961, pp. 161-66 at p. 161.</ref>]]