France 1869-BB franc
This issue, from the Strasbourg mint, is a late date of a type struck in France 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). The catalog[1] notes that this type is much easier to find in high grade than the "tête nue" type, a statement borne out by the images shown here. This date is priced about triple the common date (1868-A).
Specification: 23 mm diameter, 5 grams, 0.835 fine silver, reeded edge. Designed by Albert-Desiré Barre, 1818-1878.
Mintage: 3,094,263[1], 3,094,000[2].
Catalog reference: F.215/13, KM 806.2.
- 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]Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
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