Encyclopædia Britannica, First Edition/Frank

Frank, or Franc, an ancient coin, either of gold or silver, struck and current in France. The value of the gold frank was somewhat more than that of the gold crown; the silver frank was a third of the gold one; this coin is long out of use, though the term is still retained as the name of a money of account; in which sense it is equivalent to the livre, or twenty sols.