Essai is a term used in world coin collecting to denote a pattern coin generally issued by the French-speaking nations. Unlike the usual conception of a U.S. pattern coin, Essais are often intentionally made for collectors.
A piedfort (French piédfort) is a coin of twice or more times the thickness of the normal coin. They are normally struck for presentation purposes.
I've always said/thought them as: Ess Eye and Pee Ed Four. Probably very wrong though. ^^
I am allways confused with the Monnaie de Paris use of what should be easy terminology
Essai is a Trial like first trial to jump over 2 meters it can allso be a test . Originally the French coins were struck on a weak metal like lead or whatever in order not to damage the dies and to get an impression of what the coin will look like . These essais are expensive cause they are really teststrikes in a metal other then the final metal and not made for collectors but for testing the diestrike .Also if 5 effigies were submitted for a coin there can be tests of all 5 and only one may make it to the final legal coin stage the other four are Essais
Pronunciation is difficult to explain Es.. sé ( the last e being like the first e in wellness with a kind of hesitation betwee Es and sai)
For technical reasons some essais were made in double thickness Piefort
Pronunciation Pee ay four being the right approximation
Now Monnaie de Paris made several coins that really are disguised collectors items like doing a Piefort of the 50 FF Hercules in gold with numbered certificates and then labling it a Piedfort Essai
