France 1843-W 20 francs
This specimen was lot 2283 in Sincona sale 18 (Zürich, May 2014), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted,
"20 Francs 1843. Lille Sehr schön. (kingdom of France, Louis Philippe, twenty francs of 1843, Lille mint, very fine.)"
All gold twenty francs were officially recalled in 1928 but effectively ceased to circulate in France during World War I. This type superseded the Tiolier head used 1830-31 (F.524 and F.525). Branch mint issues include Rouen (mintmark "B"), Lille (mintmark "W") and Bayonne (mintmark "L"). Records show 773,000 forty franc pieces were minted during the reign, compared to 9.13 million twenty franc pieces and 335 million silver five franc pieces.
Recorded mintage: 35,295[2] (a better date but not as rare as the mintage suggests).
Specification: 6.45 g, 0.900 fine gold, 21 mm diameter, edge lettered DIEU PROTEGE LA FRANCE, designed by Joseph-François Domard, this specimen 6.42 g.
Catalog reference: Gadoury 1031. Schl. 241. Fr-562, F.527/30.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- 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]Numismatic Coins, Medals, & Banknotes: Auction 18, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2014.
Link to: