France 1806-A 20 francs

Heritage sale 3010, lot 20894

This specimen was lot 20894 in Heritage sale 3010 (Boston, August 2010), where it sold for $1,265. The catalog description^[2] noted, "Napoleon Empereur gold 20 Francs 1806A, MS62 NGC, bare head, attractively toned with considerable mint luster, scarce type in mint state." This issue, from the Paris mint, is the only common date of a type struck one year only. After the year 14, the revolutionary calendar was dropped in favor of the traditional Gregorian calendar. The twenty francs of Napoleon are divided into seven types, of which this is the fourth. Soon after, a laurel wreath was added to the emperor's bust (F.515), this type is also known for 1807. It was demonetized in 2005 but ceased to circulate during World War One. A complete set of this type comprises five date and mintmark combinations. The entire production run totaled about 996,000 pieces.

Specification: 21 mm diameter, 6.45 grams, 0.900 fine gold, edge lettered DIEU PROTEGE LA FRANCE. Designed by Jean-Pierre Droz (1746-1823) and Pierre Joseph Tiolier (1763-1819).

Mintage: 962,929^[1].

Catalog reference: F.513/1, KM 674.1.

Source:

Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
^[1]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
^[2]Tucker, Warren, Scott Cordry and John Kraljevich, Heritage Sale 3010: World Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2010.

Links to:

France 1806-A 20 francs

Navigation menu

Search