France 1791-W 30 sols
This specimen was lot 73365 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, November 2023), where it sold for $100. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. 30 Sols, 1791-W/Year 3. Lille Mint. Louis XVI. PCGS Genuine--Cleaned, AU Details. Second semester (with dot under U). Despite some very light cleaning, this subtly toned example retains excellent detail paired with some glistening brilliance." Altho the French Revolution famously began with the fall of the Bastille in June 1789, the upheaval was not immediately reflected in the coinage, which continued to be issued using the designs of the ancien régime. In 1791, the first "constitutional" coins appeared, including 3 deniers (= 1 liard), 6 deniers (= 2 liards), 12 deniers (= 1 sol), 2 sols, 15 sols (= 1/8 écu) and 30 sols. "Constitutional" demi-écus and écus appeared in 1792. Only then were the old royal designs discontinued. In 1793, the king was guillotined and a republic instituted. The republicans issued some brass sols and 2 sols and a silver écu de 6 livres before abandoning the system altogether in favor of the franc in 1795. The specimen shown is a 30 sols (equals 1/4 écu) of the Constitutional period (1791-93) during the French Revolution. It was struck at the Lille mint (mintmark "W") and is a somewhat scarce date of its type.
Recorded mintage: 117,000.
Specification: 10 g, 0.666 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-606.16; Gad-39.
- Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, November 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancient & World Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
Link to:
- 1791-B liard à l'écu
- 1791-A sol à l'écu
- 1791-B sol à l'écu
- 1791-D sol à l'écu
- 1791-K sol à l'écu
- 1791-Q sol à l'écu
- 1791-R sol à l'écu
- 1791-W sol à l'écu
- 1791-A 12 deniers
- 1791-AA 12 deniers
- 1791-BB 12 deniers
- 1791-D 12 deniers
- 1791 5 livres, pattern
- 1791-A 2 sols Constitutionnel
- 1791-AA 2 sols Constitutionnel
- 1791-B 2 sols Constitutionnel
- 1791-BB 2 sols Constitutionnel
- 1791-K 2 sols Constitutionnel
- 1791-R 2 sols Constitutionnel
- 1791-W 2 sols Constitutionnel
- Monneron Freres 1791 2 sols
- Caisse de Bonne Foy 1791 2 sols 6 deniers token
- Caisse de Bonne Foi (1791) 3 sols token
- Monneron Freres 1791 5 sols
- 1791-A 15 sols
- 1791-AA 15 sols
- 1791-H 15 sols
- 1791-I 15 sols
- 1791-K 15 sols
- 1791-M 15 sols
- 1791-MA 15 sols
- 1791-W 15 sols
- 1791 15 sols du Béarn
- 1791-A 30 sols
- 1791-I 30 sols
- 1791-K 30 sols
- 1791-T 30 sols
- 1791-A demi-écu au buste habillé
- 1791-T demi-écu au buste habillé
- 1791 écu, design competition
- 1791-A écu au buste habillé
- 1791-BB écu au buste habillé
- 1791-H écu au buste habillé
- 1791-I écu au buste habillé
- 1791-K écu au buste habillé
- 1791-W écu au buste habillé
- 1791 écu au buste habillé du Béarn
- 1791-T louis d'or à la tête nue
- 1791-A double louis d'or à la tête nue
- 1792-A 30 sols
- 1792-BB 30 sols "FRANÇAIS"
- Coins and currency dated 1791
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)