Franc
CONTENTS Ø Origins Ø French franc ØCountries that use the franc
ORIGINS The name Franc was originally socio-political. To the Romans, Celts, and Suebi, the Franks must have seemed alike: they looked the same and spoke the same language, so that Franci became the name by which the people were known. Within a few centuries it had eclipsed the names of the original tribes, though the older names have survived in some place-names, such as Hesse, which originates from the Chatti tribe. Following the precedents of Edward Gibbon and Jacob Grimm, the name of the Franks has been linked with the word frank in English. It has been suggested that the meaning of "free" was adopted because, after the conquest of Gaul, only Franks were free of taxation. It is traditionally assumed that Frank comes from the Germanic word for "javelin" (such as in Old English franca or Old Norse frakka). There is also another theory that suggests that Frank comes from the Latin word francisca meaning ("throwing axe"). Words in other Germanic languages meaning "bold" or "fierce" (Middle Dutch vrac, Old English frǣc and Old Norwegian frakkr), may also be significant.
THE FRANC WAS ORIGINALLY A FRENCH GOLD COIN OF 3. 87 G MINTED IN 1360 ON THE OCCASION OF THE KING JOHN II ("THE GOOD"), HELD BY THE ENGLISH SINCE HIS CAPTURE AT THE BATTLE OF POITIERS FOUR YEARS EARLIER. IT WAS EQUIVALENT TO ONE LIVRE TOURNOIS (TOURS POUND).
THE FRENCH FRANC WAS THE NAME OF A GOLD COIN ISSUED IN FRANCE FROM 1360 UNTIL 1380, THEN A SILVER COIN ISSUED BETWEEN 1575 AND 1641. THE FRANC FINALLY BECAME THE NATIONAL CURRENCY FROM 1795 UNTIL 1999 (FRANC COINS AND NOTES WERE LEGAL TENDER UNTIL 2002). THOUGH ABOLISHED AS A LEGAL COIN BY LOUIS XIII IN 1641 IN FAVOR OF THE GOLD LOUIS AND SILVER ÉCU, THE TERM FRANC CONTINUED TO BE USED IN COMMON PARLANCE FOR THE LIVRE TOURNOIS. THE FRANC WAS ALSO MINTED FOR MANY OF THE FORMER FRENCH COLONIES, SUCH AS MOROCCO, ALGERIA, FRENCH WEST AFRICA, AND OTHERS. TODAY, AFTER INDEPENDENCE, MANY OF THESE COUNTRIES CONTINUE TO USE THE FRANC AS THEIR STANDARD DENOMINATION.
THE COUNTRIES THAT USE FRANCS INCLUDE SWITZERLAND, LIECHTENSTEIN, AND MOST OF FRANCOPHONE AFRICA. BEFORE THE INTRODUCTION OF THE EURO, FRANCS WERE ALSO USED IN FRANCE, BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG, WHILE ANDORRA AND MONACO ACCEPTED THE FRENCH FRANC AS LEGAL TENDER (MONEGASQUE FRANC). THE FRANC WAS ALSO USED WITHIN THE FRENCH EMPIRE'S COLONIES, INCLUDING ALGERIA AND CAMBODIA
COUNTRIES THAT USE THE FRANC Benin Gabon Burkina Faso Guinea Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Guinea-Bissau Republic of the Congo Chad Rwanda Comoros Côte d'Ivoire Senegal Switzerland Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Togo
