France 1808-Q 20 francs

Heritage sale 3026, lot 24551

This specimen was lot 24551 in Heritage sale 3026 (Long Beach, October 2013), where it sold for $21,150. The catalog description^[1] noted, "Napoleon gold 20 Francs 1808-Q, Perpignan, XF40 NGC, nicely toned with minimal contact marks, very rare mint/date with only 646 struck. Listed as rare and unpriced in the SCWC." This issue, from the Perpignan mint, is a rare date of a type struck 1807-08 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 sixth. Soon after, "REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE" was changed to "EMPIRE FRANÇAIS" (F.516). It was demonetized in 2005 but ceased to circulate during World War One. A complete set of this type comprises seven date and mintmark combinations. The entire production run totaled about 1.7 million 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).

Recorded Mintage: 634^[2].

Catalog reference: KM 687.4, F.515/6.

Source:

^[2]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
^[1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Scott Cordry, Heritage Signature Auction 3026, World & Ancient Coins, featuring the RLM Collection, Part Two, the Nogales Collection and the Goetz Medals Die Archive, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2013.

Links to:

France 1808-Q 20 francs

Navigation menu

Search