The franco was a

currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

introduced in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

in 1891, as the Dominican Republic Government, then headed by president

Ulises Heureaux Ulises Hilarión Heureaux Leibert (; October 21, 1845 – July 26, 1899) nicknamed Lilís, was Presidents of the Dominican Republic, president of the Dominican Republic from September 1, 1882 to September 1, 1884, from January 6, 1887 to Februar ...

intended to join the

Latin Monetary Union The Monetary Convention of 23 December 1865 was a unified system of coinage that provided a degree of monetary integration among several European countries, initially Belgium, France, Italy and Switzerland, at a time when the circulation of bank ...

. It was worth five pesos and subdivided into 100 centésimos. Five denominations of

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

s were issued, 5, 10 and 50 centesimos, 1 and 5 francos. Although apparently intended to replace the

mexican peso The Mexican peso (Currency symbol, symbol: $; ISO 4217, currency code: MXN; also abbreviated Mex$ to distinguish it from peso, other peso-denominated currencies; referred to as the peso, Mexican peso, or colloquially varo) is the official curre ...

which was the main circulating currency back then, this did not happen, because the Dominican Government did not establish parity with the circulating Mexican peso and in 1897, new coins denominated in pesos and similar in design to the franco coins were introduced. The coins matched the specifications of the French 10 and 50 centimes and 1 and 5

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

, indicating that a link between the franco and the

was intended. In 1891, 125,000 1-franco coins were produced.

References

Modern obsolete currencies 1891 establishments in the Dominican Republic 1897 disestablishments in the Dominican Republic 19th century in the Dominican Republic 19th century in economic history Currencies of the Dominican Republic {{DominicanRepublic-stub