France 1870-BB franc
This issue, from the Strasbourg mint, is the last date of a type struck 1866-70 during the régime of Napoleon III of France. This "tête laurée" design, by A. D. Barre, replaced the "tête nue" type, which was of higher fineness. It was demonetized in 1918. In 1870, Strasbourg was occupied by the German army during the Franco-Prussian War and the town was lost to France until 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 double 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: 1,991,998[1], 1,992,000[2].
Catalog reference: F.215/14, KM 806.2.
- [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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