France 1887-A franc
This coin was struck at Paris during the Third Republic of France (1870-1940). It is the last date of a type struck 1871-95. All issues are Paris mint except for the Bordeaux mint (mintmark "K") issues of 1871-72. Like all francs struck after 1866, the fineness was only .835. It was demonetized in 2005 but ceased to circulate in the 1920's.
The catalog[1] notes 14 dates for the type, two dates (1878-A and 1889-A) are rare. This date is priced about 50% higher than the common date 1888-A, despite a nearly identical mintage.
Recorded mintage: 3,291,930.
Specification: 5 g, 0.835 fine silver, 23 mm diameter, reeded edge. It was designed by Eugène André Oudiné, 1810-1887. This head of Cérès was originally used on the franc of 1849-51.
Catalog reference: F.216/9, KM 834.1.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
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