France 1865-BB 5 francs d'or
This specimen was lot 433 in Sincona sale 46 (Zürich, May 2018), where it sold for 150 CHF (about US$180 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANKREICH, II. Kaiserreich. Napoleon III. 1852-1870. 5 Francs 1865 BB, Strassburg. Gutes vorzüglich. (France, Second Empire, Napeleon III, gold five francs of 1865, Strasbourg mint. Good extremely fine.)"
This specimen is a slightly better date of a series struck 1862-68 during the régime of Napoleon III, emperor of France. All 18 million were struck at the Paris (mintmark "A") and Strasbourg (mintmark "BB") mints. This is the smallest gold denomination struck in France and is very slightly lighter than the contemporary United States gold dollar. Most dates are readily available altho gems are scarce. This type is commonly called the "Laureate head." After the collapse of Napoleon's empire during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, it was superseded by the "Cérès head" type of 1878-89 (essais only). It was officially withdrawn from circulation in 1928 and demonetized in 2005 but ceased to circulate after World War One.
Reported Mintage: 866,578, a somewhat scarce date.
Specification: 1.61 g, 0.900 fine gold, .0467 troy oz AGW, 17 mm diameter, reeded edge, designed by Albert Désiré Barré (1818-1878); this specimen 1.61 g.
Catalog reference: Gadoury 1002. Fr-589, F.502/8.
- 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.
- 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]Richter, Jürg, Auction 46, Gold Coins and Medals, Zürich: Sincona AG, 2018.
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