France (1794)-I sol
This specimen was lot 1015 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €110 (about US$153 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, Convention (1792-1795), Métal de cloche sol à la balance, s.d. I, an 2 (1794), Limoges. D/ Table de la Loi entre une grappe et des épis. R/ Valeur dans une couronne et sous une balance portant le bonnet de la Liberté. (France, convention, 1792-95, bell metal sol of the balance of the year 2, Limoges mint. Obverse: table of the law between a bunch of grapes and stalks of wheat; reverse: value in a wreath under a balance sporting a liberty cap. Fine - Very Fine.)"
This coin was minted at Limoges during the throes of the Revolution. 1794 was the year of the September Massacres and the Terror. Amid the chaos, large quantities of these copper sols were issued, along with half and two sols. The 1791-93 issues bear the bust of the king but his ouster forced the removal of his portrait. The obverse shows the tablet of the law with the motto, "LES HOMMES SONT EGAUX DEVANT LA LOI," (all men are equal before the law) and the reverse shows the balance scales of justice. This type was hurriedly and crudely made and is rarely found better than VG. Metz is the most common mint.
Recorded mintage: unknown but a slightly better date.
Specification: 12.23 g, copper or "bell metal", 29 mm diameter, crude edge, this specimen 11,87 g.
Catalog reference: KM 620.5, Gad-21.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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