In January 1960 the French franc was revalued at 100 existing francs. Old one and two franc pieces continued to circulate as centimes (no new centimes were minted for the first two years), 100 of them making a nouveau franc (the abbreviation NF was used on banknotes for some time). Inflation continued to erode the currency's value, but much more slowly than those of other countries. The one-centime coin never circulated widely. Only one further major devaluation occurred (in August 1969) before the Bretton Woods system was replaced by free-floating exchange rates. Nonetheless, when the Euro replaced the franc on January 1, 1999, the franc was worth less than an eighth of its original 1960 value.
The old franc pieces were gradually withdrawn. They ceased to be legal tender in January 2002, upon the official adoption of the euro.
