France 1843-A franc
This specimen was lot 74538 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, November 2022), where it sold for $504. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Franc, 1843-A. Paris Mint. Louis Philippe I. NGC MS-63 Prooflike. A glamorous example of this type with a fully Prooflike appearance. Sparkling silvery brilliance and seldom encountered at this grade level." This issue, from the Paris mint, is a better date of a type struck 1832-48. This design, by Domard, replaced the Tiolier bust type struck 1831 only. It was demonetized in 1869. A complete set of this type comprises 118 date and mintmark combinations, many very rare. The entire production run totaled about 18.1 million pieces. The production of French five franc pieces in the same period was 289 million. By this period, the government had closed all but five mints: Paris ("A"), Rouen ("B"), Strasbourg ("BB"), Bordeaux ("K") and Lille ("W").
Recorded mintage: 73,812, a better date.
Specification: 23 mm diameter, 5 grams, 0.900 fine silver. Designed by Joseph François Domard, 1792-1858.
Catalog reference: F.210/94, KM-748.1.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The November 2022 Collectors Choice Ancient & World Coins Auction, Featuring the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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