France 1845-W 1/4 franc
This specimen was lot 72382 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Santa Ana, CA, June 2020), where it sold for $75. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. 1/4 Franc, 1845-W. Lille Mint. Louis Philippe I. PCGS MS-63 Gold Shield. A choice piece, this example presents light gray surfaces and is exceeded in the PCGS census by just one other specimen." This tiny coin was struck at Lille under the régime of king Louis Philippe of France (1830-48). It is a better date of a type struck 1831-45. All quarter francs of this reign are of this type, which is common. It was replaced in 1845 by a twenty-five centimes piece (F.167) and demonetized in 1852. The Lille mint also struck silver twenty-five centimes in 1845.
Recorded mintage: 299,988 plus 30,134 of F.167/4 (25 centimes).
Specification: 1.25 g, 0.900 fine silver, 15 mm diameter, plain edge.
Catalog reference: KM 740.13; Gad-355, F.166/107.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The February 2020 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2020.
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