France (1794)-N 2 sols
This specimen was lot 71144 in Stack's Bowers June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, June 2026), where it sold for $2,684. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. National Convention. 2 Sols, Year II-N (1794). Montpellier Mint. PCGS VF-30. Despite a fair amount of time spent in circulation, this remains a RARE and desirable type. Margolis notes that '...this is the finest example I have seen and the second that I know of.' From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Cabinet Numismatique in 1995 for $668 [!]). Ex: Cabinet Numismatique Albuquerque 50 (4/1995) Lot # 63." This coin was minted at Montpellier 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 at seven mints, of which Metz and Montpellier are the rarest.
Recorded mintage: unknown but rare.
Specification: 24.47 g, copper or "bell metal", 34 mm diameter, crude edge.
Catalog reference: KM-623.3; Gad-32.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
- Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction - Selections from the L.E. Bruun Collection, the Richard Margolis Collection and the Kirk Menczer Collection of Republican Reales Minors, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2026.
Links:
- 1793-N 2 sols constitutionnel
- L'AN II (1794)-AA sol aux balances
- L'AN II (1794)-BB sol aux balances
- L'AN II (1794)-I sol aux balances
- L'AN II (1794)-MA sol aux balances
- L'AN II (1794)-N sol aux balances
- L'AN II (1794)-R deux sols aux balances
- L'AN II (1794) deux sols aux balances du Béarn
- L'AN II (1794)-B 6 livres
- L'AN II (1794)-BB 6 livres
- L'AN II (1794)-W 6 livres
- Coins and currency dated 1794
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)