France 1867-BB 2 francs

Jean Elsen sale 124, lot 1197

from the Mountain Groan Collection

The first specimen was lot 1197 in Jean Elsen sale 124 (Brussels, March 2015), where it sold for €105 (about US$131 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"FRANCE, Napoléon III (1852-1870), AR 2 francs, 1867 BB, Strasbourg. Superbe. (France, Napoleon III (1852-70), silver two francs of 1867, Strasbourg mint. Extremely fine.)"

This is a common date of a series struck 1866-70 during the régime of Napoleon III. All 26 million were struck at the Paris (mintmark "A"), Bordeaux (mintmark "K") and Strasbourg (mintmark "BB") mints. Some of the 11 available dates are scarce, none are rare. 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 After the collapse of Napoleon's empire during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, it was superseded by the "Cérès head" type of 1870-95. It was officially withdrawn from circulation in 1928 and demonetized in 2005 but ceased to circulate after World War One.

Specification: 10 g, 0.835 fine silver, .289 troy oz AGW, 27 mm diameter, reeded edge, designed by Albert Désiré Barré (1818-1878).

Recorded mintage: 3,470,373^[1], a slightly better date.

Catalog reference: KM 807.2, F.263/5, Gad-527.

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, 2014.
^[2]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 124, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2015.

Links to:

France 1867-BB 2 francs

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