France 1965 1/2 franc
The first specimen was lot 20163 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (Newport Beach, CA, January 2021), where it sold for $3,120. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Gold 1/2 Franc Piefort, 1965. Paris Mint. NGC PROOF-65. A gleaming example of this seldom seen date with a few light hairlines that help determine the grade. From the Naples Bay Collection." This specimen is a gold piedfort struck for collectors and insiders. The regular issue is a common date of a type struck at the Paris mint 1965-2001. Some of the later dates, such as 1979-82, 1988-90, 1998-99 and 2001, are only available from FDC sets.
Recorded mintage: 184,868,600 plus 20 struck in gold.
Specification: 4.5 g, nickel, 19.5 mm diameter, after a design by Oscar Roty (1846-1911).
Catalog reference: F.198/3, KM 931.1, KM-P355 (gold).
- 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.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The January 2021 NYINC Sale: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Oro del Nuevo Mundo and Matt Orsini Collections, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2020.
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