France 1972 10 francs
This specimen is from a type struck at the Paris mint 1965-73. The mint's attempt to circulate a silver five francs in 1960-65 having proved a failure, they tried again with this silver ten francs which was also massively hoarded. The coin is very rare in circulated condition tho bumps, scratches and hairlines are common. The design is a near clone of the Union et Force five francs minted in during the first Republic of France. This specimen was lot 2843 in Stephen Album sale 41 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2021), where it sold for $360. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE: AR 10 francs piéfort, 1972, 500 struck, based on type KM-932, NGC graded Proof 68, R."
Recorded mintage: 915,000 plus 500 pieforts.
Specification: regular issue 25 g, 0.900 fine silver, 37 mm diameter, .723 troy oz ASW, decorated edge, after a design by Augustin Dupré (1748-1833).
Catalog reference: KM-P458 (piedfort), KM 932, F.364/11.
- 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]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 41, featuring the Dick Nanta Collection of Giray Khans, Part II, the Charles Opitz Collection of Ethnographic Money, Part II, and the Allan F. Pacela Collection of Chinese Coins. Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2021.
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