France 1869-A 5 francs

Heritage sale 3082, lot 30504

This specimen was lot 30504 in Heritage sale 3081 (New York, January 2020), where it sold for $2,160. The catalog description^[1] noted, "France: Napoleon III 5 Francs 1869-A MS66 NGC, Paris mint. A standout representative of the date and type expressing satiny luster underneath a uniformly laid silver patina. As fine as one could hope for, confirmed by the example's number one position within the NGC Census. From the Cape Coral Collection of French Ecus and 5 Francs." All 49 million were struck at the Paris (mintmark "A") and Strasbourg (mintmark "BB") mints 1861-70. Virtually all were struck 1867-70; the earlier dates are very 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 After the collapse of Napoleon's empire during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, it was superseded by the "Cérès head" type of 1870-71. It was officially withdrawn from circulation in 1928 and demonetized in 2005 but ceased to circulate in France after World War One.

Specification: 25 g, 0.900 fine silver, .7234 troy oz AGW, 37 mm diameter, edge lettered DIEU PROTEGE LA FRANCE. It was designed by Albert-Desiré Barre, 1818-1879.

Recorded mintage: 2,055,891^[2].

Catalog reference: F.331/14, Dav-96; Gad-739, KM 799.1.

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, 2014.
Davenport, John S., European Crowns and Talers, Since 1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
^[1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Online Auction 3082, featuring the Caranett Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2019.

Link to:

France 1869-A 5 francs

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