Kingdom of Wesphalia, Jérôme Bonaparte, 20 Francs 1809

The French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte liked to place members of his vast family at chief positions. His youngest brother Jérôme, for instance, became king of Westphalia (1807-1813). The currency of the Westphalian kingdom was the French franc, naturally. This made trade between the two realms easier – or, to put it bluntly: it assisted Westphalia's economical fusion with France. For the Kingdom of Westphalia was a French protectorate, as the part FR. PR. of the legend on this coin points out. The die has been cut by Pierre Joseph Tiolier, an engraver working in the Paris mint. Hence it is likely that the Westphalian coins were struck there as well.