France 1868-BB 50 centimes

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This dime-sized coin was struck at Paris under the régime of Napoleon III (1852-70) of France. It is a rare date of a type struck 1864-69. This type is distinguished from the earlier type (F.187) of 1853-63 by the presence of a laurel wreath on the emperor's head. Unlike previous types, the fineness was only .835. It was demonetized in 1918. The catalog^[1] notes 17 dates for the type; this date is rare, priced^[1] about ten times the common date (1864A, 1867A and 1867BB).

Recorded mintage: unknown (not registered in the government archives).

Specification: 2.5 g, 0.835 fine silver, 18 mm diameter, reeded edge. It was designed by Albert-Desiré Barre, 1818-1879.

Catalog reference: F.188/16, KM 814.2.

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, 2013.

Link to:

• 1867-A 50 centimes "laureate head"
• 1867-BB silver 5 francs "laureate head"
• Brazil 1868 200 reis
• 1868-A 20 centimes
• 1868-BB 20 centimes
• 1868-A franc
• 1868-BB franc
• 1868-A 2 francs
• 1868-A 5 francs
• 1868-BB 5 francs
• 1868-A gold 5 francs
• 1868-BB 5 francs d'or
• 1868-A 10 francs d'or
• 1868-BB 10 francs d'or
• 1868-A 20 francs d'or
• 1868-BB 20 francs d'or
• 1868-A 50 francs
• 1868-BB 50 francs
• 1868-A 100 francs d'or
• 1868-BB 100 francs d'or
• 1869-BB 50 centimes
• Coins and currency dated 1868