The 1971 2 francs is a transitional coin of New Caledonia: it no longer carries the «UNION FRANÇAISE» legend of the first 1949 two-franc pieces, and it does not yet bear the issuing institute’s initials, which reached the obverse only in 1972.

It was in 1971, on 1 April, that the issuance of CFP franc coins passed to the Institut d’Émission d’Outre-Mer. The two-franc piece without the institute’s mark is known only dated 1971; one million were struck at the Paris Mint.

Both sides were designed by Lucien Bazor. The obverse shows a seated allegorical figure with a lit torch and a cornucopia, the legend «RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE» and the signature «G.B.BAZOR»; the reverse features the kagu, the archipelago’s endemic bird, between two sprigs.

In a type collection this coin fills its own slot between the 1949 issue and the IEOM-marked coins struck from 1973 onwards. UNC grade: no trace of circulation, with mint lustre.

A coin in a collection is a reason to learn more about history, and the VPcoins catalogue offers many such reasons.