France 1773-& 1/2 sol

Stack's Bowers September 2025 Collectors Choice sale, lot 74759

This specimen was lot 74759 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $192. The catalog description^[1] noted, "FRANCE. 1/2 Sol, 1773-&. Aix Mint. Louis XV. PCGS MS-62 Brown. From the Richard August Collection." The specimen shown is a demi-sol d'Aix minted at Aix (hence the name) 1767-73 at the end of the reign of Louis XV of France. No other mint struck this type, which was probably authorized to consume copper from local mines. Numista states this type as destined for the newly conquered Corsica. Its face value was 6 deniers, half sol or 1/240 of a silver écu. The type is common in low grade (the SCWC values it at $3 in VG) but well made specimens are scarce.

Recorded mintage: unknown but a common date^[2].

Specification: copper, 6.12 g, 25 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by Charles Norbert Roettiers.

Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 867, Dr/2 № 577, KM-541; Gad-274.

Sources:

Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
^[2]Droulers, Frédéric, Répertoire General des Monnaies de Louis XIII à Louis XVI (1610-1792), 4e édition. Paris: AFPN, 2009.
Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Royales Françaises, 1610-1792, 5me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2018.
Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, September 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, including Selections from the Richard Margolis Collection and Selections from the L.E. Bruun Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.

Link to:

France 1773-& 1/2 sol

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