France 1868-A franc

from the Stack's Bowers 2019 ANA sale, lot 22553

This specimen was lot 22553 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2019), where it sold for $240. The catalog description^[1] noted, "FRANCE. Franc, 1868-A. Paris Mint. Napoleon III. NGC MS-65. A stunning Gem, featuring a captivating underlying luster along with a alluring electric cobalt tone throughout. A real stunner with tremendous eye appeal." This issue, from the Strasbourg mint, is a late date of a type struck 1866-70 during the régime of Napoleon III. 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.

Recorded mintage: 14,942,298^[2].

Specification: 23 mm diameter, 5 grams, 0.835 fine silver, reeded edge. Designed by Albert-Desiré Barre, 1818-1878.

Catalog reference: F.215/8, Gad-463; KM-806.1.

Source:

Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
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, 2014.
^[1]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The August 2019 Chicago ANA Auction: World Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2019.

Link to:

France 1868-A franc

Navigation menu

Search