Centime

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Fraction currency in several Francophone countries

title: "Centime" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["marianne-(personification)", "cent-(currency)"] description: "Fraction currency in several Francophone countries" topic_path: "general/marianne-personification" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centime" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Fraction currency in several Francophone countries ::

| header = 20 French Centime with Marianne on Obverse. | image = File:20 Centimes (France).jpg | caption_left = Obverse: Marianne wearing the Phrygian cap of liberty. | caption_right = Reverse: Face value and French motto: "Liberté, égalité, fraternité". | width = 300 | footer = This coin was minted from 1962 to 2001. | position = right | margin = 0 ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/10_French_centimes_1963_(1).jpg" caption="10 French centimes (1963)"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/10_French_centimes_1963_(2).jpg" caption="10 French centimes (1963)"] ::

A centime (from ) is a fractional monetary unit. It equals one-hundredth of a franc in Switzerland, one-hundredth of a dinar in Algeria, and one-hundredth of a dirham in Morocco. It was formerly worth one-hundredth of a franc in other Francophone countries, such as Belgium and France, until the adoption of the euro.

In France, the usage of centime goes back to the introduction of the decimal monetary system under Napoleon. This system aimed at replacing non-decimal fractions of older coins. A five-centime coin was known as a sou, i.e. a solidus or shilling.

In Francophone Canada of a Canadian dollar is officially known as a cent (pronounced /sɛnt/) in both English and French. However, in practice, the form of cenne (pronounced /sɛn/) has completely replaced the official cent. Spoken and written use of the official form cent in Francophone Canada is exceptionally uncommon. In the Canadian French vernacular sou, sou noir (noir means "black" in French), cenne, and cenne noire are all widely known, used, and accepted monikers when referring to either of a Canadian dollar or the 1¢ coin (colloquially known as a "penny" in North American English).

Subdivision of euro

In the European community, cent is the official name for one hundredth of a euro. However, in French-speaking countries, the word *centime *is the preferred term. The Superior Council of the French language of Belgium recommended in 2001 the use of centime, since cent is also the French word for "hundred". An analogous decision was published in the Journal officiel in France (2 December 1997).

In Morocco, dirhams are divided into 100 centimes and one may find prices in the country quoted in centimes rather than in dirhams. Sometimes centimes are known as francs or, in former Spanish areas, pesetas.

Usage

A centime is one-hundredth of the following basic monetary units: | header = 5 Ethiopian santims | image = | caption_left = Obverse: Ethiopian lion head, year and country name. | caption_right = Reverse: Vega bond Hunter and face value. | width = 250 | footer = 5 santims were made of two metals, brass (1969 only) and steel coated with nickel (1996-). This particular coin is made of brass (1969). Coins made of steel are magnetic and the lion head is bigger. | position = right | margin = 0 (This is messed up; please fix or delete ...) --

Current

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Ethiopia,_25_centimes_1944,_Selassie_I.jpg" caption="[[Ethiopia]], 25 centimes 1944"] ::

Obsolete

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Centim_1797-98,_France,_Première_République.jpg" caption="Centime 1797–98, [[French First Republic]]. First year of release."] ::

References

References

  1. "Definition of 'centime'". [[HarperCollins Publishers]].
  2. (2016). "A Dictionary of Business and Management". [[Oxford University Press]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

marianne-(personification)cent-(currency)