France
1977 Coinage Set - Nine Coins (One is Silver)

The 50 Francs is:
1977 Silver 50 Francs 41mm (29.91 grams) 0.900 Silver (0.8681 oz. ASW)
Reference: F# 426, F# 427, Gad# 882, Schön# 237, KM# 941 (1974-80)
LIBERTE EGALITE FRATERNITE. Liberty, holding the liberty cap on rod and Equality clasping hands with Hercules at center embracing them.
REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE 50 FRANCS, Wreath.

Also includes 10 Franc Copper-Nickel, 5 Franc Copper-Nickel Clad Nickel, 1 Franc and 1/2 Franc Nickel, 20 and 10 and 5 Centimes Copper-Aluminum Nickel and 1 Centimes Stainless Steel.

Designs by Dupre, Mathieu, Roty, Lagriffoul and Dieudonne.

 Liberté, égalité, fraternité (pronounced: [libɛʁte eɡalite fʁatɛʁnite]), French for "liberty, equality , fraternity ", is the national motto of France and the Republic of Haiti , and is an example of a tripartite motto . Although it finds its origins in the French Revolution , it was then only one motto among others and was not institutionalized until the Third Republic at the end of the 19th century. Debates concerning the compatibility and order of the three terms began at the same time as the Revolution.

During the Revolution, the symbol of Hercules was revived to represent nascent revolutionary ideals. The first use of Hercules as a revolutionary symbol was during a festival celebrating the National Assembly's victory over federalism on 10 August 1793. "Federalism" was a movement to weaken the central government. This Festival of Unity consisted of four stations around Paris which featured symbols representing major events of the Revolution which embodied revolutionary ideals of liberty, unity, and power.

The statue of Hercules, placed at the station commemorating the fall of Louis XVI , symbolized the power of the French people over their former oppressors. The statue's foot was placed on the throat of the Hydra , which represented the tyranny of federalism which the new Republic had vanquished. In one hand, the statue grasped a club, a symbol of power, while in the other grasping the fasces which symbolized the unity of the French people. The image of Hercules assisted the new Republic in establishing its new Republican moral system. Hercules thus evolved from a symbol of the sovereignty of the monarch into a symbol of the new sovereign authority in France: the French people.

This transition was made easily for two reasons. First, because Hercules was a famous mythological figure, and had previously been used by the monarchy, he was easily recognized by educated French observers. It was not necessary for the revolutionary government to educate the French people on the background of the symbol. Additionally, Hercules recalled the classical age of the Greeks and the Romans, a period which the revolutionaries identified with republican and democratic ideals. These connotations made Hercules an easy choice to represent the powerful new sovereign people of France.

During the more radical phase of the Revolution from 1793 to 1794, the usage and depiction of Hercules changed. These changes to the symbol were due to revolutionary leaders believing the symbol was inciting violence among the common citizens. The triumphant battles of Hercules and the overcoming of enemies of the Republic became less prominent. In discussions over what symbol to use for the Seal of the Republic, the image of Hercules was considered but eventually ruled out in favor of Marianne .

Hercules was on the coin of the Republic. However, this Hercules was not the same image as that of the pre-Terror phases of the Revolution. The new image of Hercules was more domesticated. He appeared more paternal, older, and wiser, rather than the warrior-like images in the early stages of the French Revolution. Unlike his 24-foot statue in the Festival of the Supreme Being, he was now the same size as Liberty and Equality.

Also the language on the coin with Hercules was very different from the rhetoric of pre-revolutionary depictions. On the coins the words, "uniting Liberty and Equality" were used. This is opposed to the forceful language of early Revolutionary rhetoric and rhetoric of the Bourbon monarchy. By 1798, the Council of Ancients had discussed the "inevitable" change from the problematic image of Hercules, and Hercules was eventually phased out in favor of an even more docile image.