France 1843-BB 2 francs
This specimen was lot 985 in Jean Elsen sale 122 (Brussels, September 2014), where it sold for €220 (about US$337 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[2] noted,
"FRANCE, Louis-Philippe (1830-1848), AR 2 francs, 1843 BB, Strasbourg. Très Beau à Superbe. (kingdom of France, Louis Philippe (1830-48), silver two francs of 1843, Strasbourg mint. Very fine to extremely fine.)"
This type was struck during the reign of Louis Philippe of France (1830-48) from numerous mints. The specimen shown is from Strasbourg and is scarce. It is priced[1] about 2½ times higher in VF than the commonest date (1847A). Many issues of this type are known from a handful (<10) of examples. The type is not difficult to find but is expensive in high grade. 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. Designed by Joseph François Domard, 1792-1858.
Recorded mintage: 58,919[1].
Catalog reference: F.260/99, KM 743.3, Gad-520.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies. Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
- [2]Philippe Elsen et al., Vente Publique 122: Collection de monnaies chinoises, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S. A., 2014.
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