France 1971 5 francs
The first specimen was lot 23135 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $5,280. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Gold 5 Francs Piefort, 1971. Paris Mint. NGC PROOF-67. Featuring Roty's classic Art Nouveau semeuse (sower of seeds) design from the late 19th century, this piefort striking in gold offers an abundance of radiance along with a delightful cartwheel nature to the resounding luster." This specimen is a gold piedfort struck for collectors and insiders. Other off-metal strikes were made in silver and platinum. The regular issue is a common date of a type struck at the Paris mint 1970-2001. Some of the later dates, such as 1979-86, 1988-90, 1996-2001, are only available from FDC sets.
Recorded mintage: 142,204,000 plus 250 in gold plus more in silver and platinum.
Specification: 10 g, nickel-plated copper-nickel, 29 mm diameter, after a design by Oscar Roty (1846-1911).
Catalog reference: F.341/3, KM 926a.1, KM-P432; Gad-154.P3 (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, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The January 2023 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Taraszka Collection and the Mark and Dottie Salton Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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