France 1793-W 30 sols

Stack's Bowers October 2025 Collectors Choice sale, lot 71077

Stack's Bowers October 2025 Collectors Choice sale, lot 71080

The first specimen was lot 71077 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $408. The catalog description^[1] noted, "FRANCE. Constitution. 30 Sols, 1793-W/Year 5. Lille Mint. Louis XVI. PCGS AU-58. At the precipice of Mint State status, this entrancing minor displays some minor obverse haymarking--a fairly typical aspect--though also yields some alluring brilliance and color as well. From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Hans Schulman on 24 October 1952 for $1.50)." The second specimen was lot 71080 in the same sale, where it sold for $1,440. The catalog description^[1] noted, "FRANCE. Constitution. 30 Sols, 1793-W/Year 5. Lille Mint. Louis XVI. PCGS Genuine--Tooled, AU Details. Variety with "FRAÇOIS". Though there are some unfortunate scratches upon both sides, this example nevertheless remains one of the finest that one can hope to encounter with the rather obvious spelling error on the obverse. A RARE and impressive specimen as such. From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Claude Silberstein in Paris on 25 May 1987 for $332)." 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 slightly better date of its type. The "FRAÇOIS" variety is not mentioned in Gadoury.

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.

Recorded mintage: 362,329, a better date.

Specification: 10 g, 0.666 fine silver, .214 troy oz ASW, 28 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: KM-606.16; Gad-39.

Sources:

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.
Guilloteau, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, Colonies 1670-1942 et Metropole 1774-1942, Versailles, 1942.
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 1793-W 30 sols

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