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A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term hallmark is used to refer to any standard of quality.
The French government awarded the Order of the Black Star in Europe until 1 January 1964. The decolonisation and restructuring of the French colonial empire, one speaks now of the " French Union ", made necessary other adaptations in the French knighthood orders.
Some, like the Legion of Honour, are awarded to both the armed forces and civilians. Others are decorations of a pure civilian or military character. Only four of the 19 Ministerial orders have survived the reform of the French system of decorations in 1963. The others were replaced by the Ordre national du Mérite.
Half Louis d’or of Louis XIII (1643) [nb 2] The Louis d'or (a gold coin) replaced the franc which had been in circulation (in theory) since John II.In actual practice the principal gold coin circulating in France in the earlier 17th century had been Spanish: the 6.7-gram double escudo or "doubloon", of which the Louis d'or was an explicit copy.
The coins were originally minted in two denominations, 20 and 40 francs for Napoléon Bonaparte. The 40-franc gold piece did not become popular. [8] The 20 franc coins are 21 mm in diameter (about the size of a U.S. five-cent piece or a Swiss 20 Rappen coin), weigh 6.45 grams (gross weight) and; at 90% pure, contain 0.1867 troy ounces (5.807 g) of pure gold.
The Paris Mint and the national postal service said Tuesday that 5-euro and 15-euro coins will be available in silver while the 100-euro coin will be in gold. Interesting enough, a further limited set of gold and silver coins will be issued by 2010, with the highest value a gold 500-euro coin was also recently announce by the French Mint. [2]
The yearly quota of Gold and Silver level awards are set by the minister of defence. Points are earned through participation in exercises, operations, proficiency, initiative, awards received, etc. [ 1 ] People who had been awarded the Légion d'honneur or the Ordre national du Mérite can not receive the National Defence Medal.
The Médaille militaire is a silver laurel wreath, 28 mm (1.1 in) in diameter, wrapped around a central gold medallion bearing the left profile of Marianne, effigy of the French Republic, the original 2nd Empire variant bore the left profile of Emperor Napoleon III.