France 1974 5 centimes
This is a common date of a type struck at the Paris mint for France 1966-2001. Struck in large numbers in the sixties and seventies, in later years inflation caused the mint to skip years where possible. Altho all dates were struck for the mint sets sold to collectors (whence came the specimen shown), the last date struck for circulation was 1998. Several dates have "three fold" and "four fold" varieties, so called from the folds in the front of Mlle Liberté's gown. This type was accompanied by a similar ten, twenty and fifty centimes. The first specimen was part of lot 42201 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2024), where it sold for $19,200. The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE. Gold Piefort Proof Set (10 Pieces), 1974-79. Paris Mint. All NGC Certified. A complete denominational set of gold Piefort issues, including every denomination issued in 1974 as well as a single 1979 2 Francs (as none were issued in 1974). These Piefort issues are elusive and relatively low mintage, with some in the double digits, and as such this presents a RARE opportunity to acquire a complete set. ...9) Gold 5 Centimes Piefort, 1974. NGC PROOF-68 Ultra Cameo."
Recorded mintage: 103,988,811 plus 96 in gold.
Specification: 2 g, aluminum-bronze, 17 mm diameter, designed by Henri Lagriffoul (1907-81) and Adrien Dieudonné (1912-82).
Catalog reference: F.125/10, KM 933, KM-P490 (struck in gold); GEM-22.P3.
- 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, August 2024 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Emilio M. Ortiz Collection, The Richard Margolis Collection and The Rutherford Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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