France 1808-W 2 francs

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UBS sale 85, lot 753

This specimen was lot 753 in UBS sale 85 (Zürich, September 2010), where it sold for 350 CHF (about US$399 including buyer's fee). The catalog description[1] noted,

"FRANKREICH, Königreich, Premier Empire. Napoleon I. (1804-1814) 2 Francs 1808, Lille. Sehr schön. (France, first empire, Napoleon, 1804-14, two francs of 1808, Lille mint. Very fine.)"

This type was struck 1808 only during the reign of Napoleon I from numerous mints. The specimen shown is from Lille and is a rare date. Many issues of this type are known from a handful (<10) of examples. The type is rather scarce, being struck the one year only; in 1809, the reverse legend was changed from "REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE" to "EMPIRE FRANCAISE." All two francs issued prior to 1859, including this one, were demonetized in 1869 to make way for the succeeding issue which was only 0.835 fine.

Specification: 27 mm diameter, 10 grams, 0.900 fine silver, edge lettered DIEU PROTEGE LA FRANCE. Designed by Pierre Joseph Tiolier, 1763-1819. This specimen 9,89 g.

Recorded mintage: 39,848[2].

Catalog reference: F.254/14, KM 684.10, Gad-500.

Source:

  • Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
  • Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
  • [2]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies. Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
  • [1]UBS Auction 85: Gold and Silver Coins, Zürich: UBS AG, 2010.

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