France 1866-A franc

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This issue, from the Paris mint, is from a type struck 1866-70 during the régime of Napoleon III of France. This "tête laurée" design, by A. D. Barre, replaced the "tête nue" type, which was of higher fineness. It was demonetized in 1918. A complete set of this type comprises 14 date and mintmark combinations. The entire production run, 1866-70, totaled about 82.7 million pieces. Only three mints struck this type: Paris ("A"), Strasbourg ("BB") and Bordeaux ("K", 1866-67 only). Le Franc^[2] notes that this type is much easier to find in high grade than the "tête nue" type. This date is common.

Recorded mintage: 14,638,380^[2].

Specification: 5 g, 0.900 fine silver, 23 mm diameter, reeded edge.

Catalog reference: KM 806.1, F.215/1.

Source:

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, 2013.

Link to:

France 1866-A franc

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