France 1808-I 10 centimes
This specimen was lot 71448 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $690. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Empire. 10 Centimes, 1808-I. Limoges Mint. Napoleon I. PCGS MS-64. Extremely lustrous and tantalizing, this minor with elegant burnished toning nearer the peripheries would be very difficult to surpass in overall quality. From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from World-Wide Coins of California [James Elmen] in Los Angeles on 5 June 1980 for $75)." The specimen shown is one of a type struck 1807-10 during the regime of the Emperor Napoleon. This Limoges mint issue is a common date. This type is the only billon issue of the decimal series. It failed for the same reason as the billon issues of Louis XV failed: rampant counterfeiting and rejection by the populace. The authors of Le Franc 10[2] note, "Ce type est sans contestation possible le plus falsifié de l'histoire monétaire moderne de la France (This type is without doubt the most counterfeited in the modern history of France)." They comment that one out of three examples seen are fakes but that they are collectible nonetheless. Only high grade specimens show a silver look. Circulated examples show the dark greenish gray typical of base silver coins.
Recorded mintage: 1,062,123[2], a common date.
Specification: billon (20% silver, 80% copper), 2 g, 18 mm diameter. Designed by Pierre Joseph Tiolier, 1763-1819.
Catalog reference: F.130/6, KM-676.5; Gad-190.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [2]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
- [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:
- 1807-I ¼ franc
- 1807-I ½ franc
- 1807-I franc
- 1807-I 2 francs
- 1807-I 5 francs
- 1807-I 40 francs
- 1808-BB 5 centimes
- 1808-A billon 10 centimes
- 1808-M billon 10 centimes
- 1808-W billon 10 centimes
- 1808-A ¼ franc
- 1808-I ¼ franc
- 1808-L ¼ franc
- 1808-A ½ franc
- 1808-B ½ franc
- 1808-BB ½ franc
- 1808-D ½ franc
- 1808-H ½ franc
- 1808-I ½ franc
- 1808-K ½ franc
- 1808-Q ½ franc
- 1808-T ½ franc
- 1808-U ½ franc
- 1808-W ½ franc
- 1808-A franc
- 1808-BB franc
- 1808-D franc
- 1808-H franc
- 1808-I franc
- 1808-M franc
- 1808-T franc
- 1808-U franc
- 1808-W franc
- 1808-A 2 francs
- 1808-B 2 francs
- 1808-L 2 francs
- 1808-M 2 francs
- 1808-MA 2 francs
- 1808-Q 2 francs
- 1808-W 2 francs
- 1808-A 5 francs
- 1808-B 5 francs
- 1808-BB 5 francs
- 1808-H 5 francs
- 1808-K 5 francs
- 1808-L 5 francs
- 1808-M 5 francs
- 1808-MA 5 francs
- 1808-Q 5 francs
- 1808-U 5 francs
- 1808-W 5 francs
- 1808-A 20 francs
- 1808-M 20 francs
- 1808-Q 20 francs
- 1808-U 20 francs
- 1808-W 20 francs
- 1808-A 40 francs
- 1808-H 40 francs
- 1808-M 40 francs
- 1808-U 40 francs
- 1808-W 40 francs
- 1809-I 10 centimes
- Coins and currency dated 1808