France 1868-BB 100 francs

Heritage sale 3030, lot 23579

This specimen was lot 23579 in Heritage sale 3030 (New York, January 2014), where it sold for $14,100. The catalog description^[1] noted, "Napoleon III gold 100 Francs 1868-BB, Strasbourg mint, MS62 NGC. An exceptional survivor of this meager issue of 789 pieces, the lowest reported mintage of the entire Napoleon III 100 Francs series. The surfaces are lustrous and bright with light bagmarks common to the type, although no heavy marks particularly stand out. A scarce date/mintmark and a rare specimen in this designation." Altho these large gold coins usually trade for little over their bullion value, this "laureate head" hundred francs is not common. During the 1862-70 period of issue, only 97,210 were minted at Paris and Strasbourg together (compared to 346,000 "bare head" 100 francs and 85 million "laureate head" twenty francs).

Recorded mintage: 2,315.

Specification: 32.26 g, 0.900 fine gold, 35 mm diameter, edge lettered DIEU PROTEGE LA FRANCE, designed by Albert-Desiré Barré (1818-78).

Catalog reference: KM 802.2, Fr-581, F.551/11.

Source:

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.
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.
Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2013.
^[1]* ^[1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3030, featuring the RLM Collection, the Isaac Rudman Collection, the Hans Cook Collection and the Collection of Donald E. Bently, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2013.

Link to:

France 1868-BB 100 francs

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