France 1809-I 10 centimes

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Stack's Bowers September 2025 Collectors Choice sale, lot 71451
SB925-71451r.jpg

This specimen was lot 71451 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $145. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Empire. 10 Centimes, 1809-I. Limoges Mint. Napoleon I. PCGS MS-63. Highly Choice and attractive, with an olive and steely gray hue. From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Bernard Southgate on 17 August 1973)." 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. Eight other mints struck this type. 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[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 the silver look of the images displayed here. Circulated examples show the dark greenish gray typical of base silver coins.

Recorded mintage: 3,472,159[2], a common date.

Specification: billon (20% silver, 80% copper), 2 g, 18 mm diameter, plain edge. Designed by Pierre Joseph Tiolier, 1763-1819.

Catalog reference: F.130/15, KM-676.5; Gad-190.

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.

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