Vintage 1999 Republic of France 50 Cent Nordic gold coin necklace

1999 Republic of France 50 Cent Nordic gold coin necklace. Brown satin silk cord with spring clasp and extender. Coin measures 1 inch. Silk cord extends to 8 inches. Excellent condition. Wearing a coin necklace signifies power and wealth. Depicts a modern sower, redesigned by Laurent Jorio, surrounded by the 12 stars of the European Union against a background of diagonal lines; to the left are horizontal lines and the year, to the right, vertical lines and the initials of the French Republic (RF), and at the bottom, the mint marks of the Paris mint and mint master. This Sower originally dates back to 1887. This was the year when Oscar Roty designed a prize medal commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture. He went back to the Sower of 1887 but transformed his robust peasant into a slim Marianne (national symbol of the French Republic, an allegory of liberty and reason), wearing the Phrygian cap of Liberty. The traditional profile of the Republic was abandoned in favour of a more active, standing figure. Originally, The Sower was used on the fifty centime to two franc coins introduced in 1897 and 1898, before appearing on stamps in 1903. It is thus the most widespread work of art in France.