France 1897 50 Centimes

The now-iconic design that went on to be on French currency for over 100 years was first seen on the 50 centimes coin of 1897. This iconic “La Semeuse” design of the Sower is the work of artist Oscar Roty and is considered the inspiration for the iconic United States coin known as the Walking Liberty Half Dollar.

In the Musee d’Orsay there is the original work of Oscar Roty, a plaque considered the origin of Roty’s design featuring La Semeuse, which was a design concept for a prize medal commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture. Oscar Roty’s La Semeuse dating to 1887 was not adopted. It would be in 1896 when Oscar Roty was selected by the minister of finance to commission designs for new coinage. Roty returned to his piece Le Semeuse and redesigned the piece. The new concept transformed the robust peasant that was the seed sower to a slim Marianne wearing a Phrygian cap of Liberty — an effort to make the figure more aesthetically attractive. The designs were struck as essai coinage dated 1897 and put into production as a circulating coin denominated 50 centimes in 1897. The 1897 Sower 50 centimes by Oscar Roty had a mintage of 88,000 coins.

The design was not without its critics. Newspapers critical of the design questioned the design, asking if she was sowing the seeds of disorder, anarchy, and immorality. Yet it would be La Liberte on October 8, 1898, that would print, “These seeds that she generously sows are the innumerable ideas that will germinate one day when we are no longer here,” which pointed to the design as an allegory. It would be the beauty of the design of Le Semeuse and the allegory that it represents that inspired sculptor Adolph Weinman to design the United States half dollar featuring the Walking Liberty just 19 years later.

Despite the lower mintage of the 1897 50 Centimes, it is still abundant and affordable. PCGS has currently certified 128 examples, with two grading MS67. An example certified PCGS MS65 sold in June 2022 by auction firm CGB for some $450. Specimen examples struck as piedforts (double thickness and weight) and off-metal strikes in gold are rare and occasionally will appear in auction. A piedfort example certified PCGS SP63 sold in December 2021 in a CGB auction for over $730. An off-metal strike in gold was last traded in an MDC auction certified PCGS SP63 for over $6,800.