France 1936 20 francs
This specimen is a rare date of a series struck 1929-39. It was lot 22529 in Heritage sale 3010 (Boston, August 2010). The catalog description[1] noted, "Third Republic 20 Francs 1936, AU, good luster, some minor marks. A key date with a mintage of 47,584 pieces." All 51 million were struck at the Paris mint without mintmark. Most dates are readily available; the 1932, 1936 and 1939 dates are rare. This type was an attempt by the Poincaré government of France to revive the silver écu but at a realistic level after the ravages of the inflation of World War One. The face value of the old franc Germinal was 0.222 franc/gram of silver; this coin prices silver at 1.47 francs/gram. It was officially demonetized in 1945 but ceased to circulate during the German occupation.
Recorded mintage: 46,584.
Specification: 20 g, 0.680 fine silver, 35 mm diameter, reeded edge, designed by Pierre Turin (1891-1968).
Catalog reference: Gad-852, F.400/7, KM 879, Dav-98.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
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