France 1850-A franc
This specimen was lot 46425 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Oklahoma City, OK, August 2025), where it sold for $336. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Franc, 1850-A. Paris Mint. PCGS MS-63." This coin is an issue of the short-lived Second Republic of France (1848-52). It is known from three mints: Paris (mintmark "A", the vast majority), Bordeaux (mintmark "K", rare) and Strasbourg (mintmark "BB", scarce). The type is not difficult to find but is expensive in high grade. Oudiné's bust of Cérès was revived under the Third Republic and used on the franc 1871-95. All 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. The privy mark on the right, a dog's head, comes with a long, folded ear (shown here) or a short, cropped ear (F.211/4).
Recorded mintage: 1,001,108 (all varieties).
Specification: 23 mm diameter, 5 grams, 0.900 fine silver. Designed by Eugéne André Oudiné, 1810-1887.
Catalog reference: F.211/5 (long ear) or F.211/4 (short ear), KM-759.1; Gad-457.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
- Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies. Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2025 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Richard August Collection and the Richard Margolis Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
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