France 1980 20 centimes
The first specimen was lot 22332 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Anaheim, CA, August 2016), where it sold for $1,527.50. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. 20 Centimes, 1980. PCGS SP-68 Secure Holder. Gold Piefort. With mint certificate serial #0006. From a mintage of 136 and containing 0.5177 Troy ounces AGW. Tied with one other for finest at PCGS, with the closest coin at NGC two points lower. Scrupulously preserved with no spots, tone or fog." The second specimen was part of lot 30828 in Heritage sale 3064 (Chicago, April 2018), which sold for $14,400. The catalog description[3] noted, "Republic Ten-piece Piefort gold Set 1980 1 Centime-50 Francs, 1) 1 Centimes, PR62 Ultra Cameo NGC; 2) 5 Centimes, PR65 Ultra Cameo NGC; 3) 10 Centimes, PR63 Ultra Cameo NGC; 4) 20 Centimes, PR64 Ultra Cameo NGC; 5) 1/2 Franc, PR67 NGC; 6) 1 Franc, Proof Details (Rim Filing) NGC, there appears to be an edge test cut; 7) 2 Francs, PR66 NGC; 8) 5 Francs, PR66 NGC; 9) 10 Francs, PR68 NGC; 10) 50 Francs, PR65 Ultra Cameo NGC; KM-P655. Extremely rare as a complete set and the only set we have seen." The regular issue twenty centimes was minted 1962-2001 and is not rare tho some dates were struck only for sale to collectors. The specimen shown is an off-metal strike in gold for presentation.
Recorded mintage: 20,010,000[2] regular issue plus 569 in silver and 136 in gold.
Specification: 4 g, aluminum bronze, 23.5 mm diameter, plain edge (regular issue).
Catalog reference: F.156/20, KM 930 (aluminum bronze), KM-P663 (silver), KM-P664 (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.
- [2]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, The August 2016 Anaheim ANA Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2016.
- [3]Cristiano Bierrenbach and Warren Tucker, Heritage World Coin Auction 3064, featuring the Doug Robins Collection of Canadian Tokens, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2018.
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