France 1876-A 20 francs
This specimen was lot 22603 in Stack's Bowers 2018 NYINC sale (New York, January 2018), where it sold for $288. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. 20 Francs, 1876-A. NGC MS-64. Sharply struck with soft satin luster and quite attractive." This specimen is a common date of a series struck 1871-98. This type revives the type struck 1848-49 during the Second Republic. All 86 million were struck at the Paris mint. Most dates are readily available; only the 1888-A is rare. This type is commonly called an "angel" by American dealers but the French name "Génie" is more accurate, as the figure is the Genius of France inscribing the Constitution. It was officially withdrawn from circulation in 1928 and demonetized in 2005 but ceased to circulate after World War One.
Recorded mintage: 8,824,658[2] (a common date).
Specification: 6.45 g, 0.900 fine gold, 21 mm diameter, edge lettered DIEU PROTEGE LA FRANCE, after a design by Augustin Dupré.
Catalog reference: Fr-592; KM-825; Gad-1063, F.533/4.
- 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.
- [2]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies. Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, Kyle Ponterio, John Kraljevich and Cris Chatigny, The January 2018 NYINC Sale: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Eldorado Collection of Colombian and Ecuadorian Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2017.
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