France 1808-L 1/4 franc

Stack's Bowers September 2025 Collectors Choice sale, lot 71446

This specimen was lot 71446 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $145. The catalog description^[1] noted, "FRANCE. Empire. Quart de France (1/4 Franc), 1808-L. Bayonne Mint. Napoleon I. PCGS VF-30. A SCARCER minor, this example does exhibit some signs of extensive time in commerce, yet remains exceeded in the PCGS census by just two others. From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Bill Houston in Frankfurt on 14 October 1970 for $27.50)." Quarter francs were minted in France steadily throughout Napoleon's reign but always in small quantities. This laureate head type comes in four date-mintmark combinations: 1807-A, 1808-A, 1808-I, 1808-L (shown here), all scarce to rare. An 1807-L quarter franc exists but is a different type.

Recorded mintage: 4,381^[2], a rare date.

Specification: 1.25 g, 0.900 fine silver, 15 mm diameter, plain edge. Designed by Pierre Joseph Tiolier, 1763-1819.

Catalog reference: F.161/4, KM-678.3; Gad-349.

Sources:

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:

France 1808-L 1/4 franc

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