France 1857-A 20 centimes

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This tiny coin was struck at Paris under the régime of Napoleon III of France (1852-70). It is a better date of a type struck 1853-63. This type is distinguished from the later type (F.149) of 1864-66 by the absence of a wreath about the emperor's head. The denomination does not seem to have been popular, as no more were struck for circulation after 1868. It was demonetized in 1869. The catalog^[1] notes 14 dates for the type; this date is scarce, priced nearly triple the common date (1860-A).

Recorded mintage: 839,515^[1].

Specification: 1 g, 0.900 fine silver, 15 mm diameter, reeded edge. It was designed by Jean-Jacques Barre, 1818-1879.

Catalog reference: F.148/7.

Source:

• 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.
• ^[1]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2013.

Link to:

• 1856-A 20 centimes
• 1857-A centime
• 1857-K centime
• 1857-MA centime
• 1857-A 2 centimes
• 1857-D 2 centimes
• 1857-MA 2 centimes
• 1857-A 5 centimes
• 1857-MA 5 centimes
• 1857-A 10 centimes
• 1857-A 50 centimes
• 1857-A franc
• 1857-A 2 francs
• 1857-A 5 francs
• 1857-A gold 5 francs
• 1857-A 10 francs
• 1857-A 20 francs
• 1857-A 50 francs
• 1857-A 100 francs
• 1859-A 20 centimes
• Coins and currency dated 1857