France AN13-BB 1/4 franc
This specimen was lot 34201 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2025), where it sold for $1,560. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Empire. Quart de Franc (1/4 Franc), Year 13-BB (1804/5). Strasbourg Mint. Napoleon I. PCGS AU-58. A VERY RARE offering as can be seen through its relatively small mintage figure, this specimen presents a charming strike and enticing gunmetal gray toning, and stands as the finer of just two seen in the PCGS census. From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Bill Applegate on 28 April 1983 for $150)." This tiny coin was struck at Strasbourg under the régime of the emperor Napoleon. It is a very scarce date of a short-lived type (AN 12-14) that remains scarce today. The date reflects a ten year experiment of using the revolutionary calendar (AN 4-14) which set 1789 as year 1.
The quarter-francs of Napoleon ran thru a number of types, none of which are common (catalog numbers taken from Le Franc 10):
- F.157: Bonaparte Premier Consul (AN 12 only, 323,000 struck for the type)
- F.158: Napoleon Emperor, revolutionary calendar (AN 12-14, 519,000 struck for the type)
- F.159: Napoleon Emperor, Gregorian calendar (1806-07, 112,000 struck for the type)
- F.160: Napoleon Emperor, "Negro head" (1807-A only, 41,000 struck)
- F.161: Napoleon Emperor, laureate head, "République Française" on reverse (1807-08, 23,000 struck for the type)
- F.162: Napoleon Emperor, laureate head, "Empire Français" on reverse (1809-A only, 34,000 struck for the type)
Recorded mintage: 2,188[2].
Specification: 1.25 g, 0.900 fine silver, 15 mm diameter, plain edge. Designed by Pierre Joseph Tiolier, 1763-1819.
Catalog reference: KM-654.2; Gad-346; F.158/9.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [2]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2025 NYINC Showcase Auction, featuring the Richard Margolis Collection, Part III, and the Richard August Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
Links to:
- An 12-A ¼ franc, Premier Consul
- AN 12-BB ¼ franc, Premier Consul
- AN 12-I ¼ franc, Premier Consul
- AN 12-MA ¼ franc, Premier Consul
- An 12-H ¼ franc, Empereur
- An 12-I ¼ franc, Empereur
- An 12-K ¼ franc, Empereur
- An 12-T ¼ franc, Empereur
- An 12-T ¼ franc, Premier Consul
- An 13-A ¼ franc
- An 13-H ¼ franc
- An 13-I ¼ franc
- An 13-L ¼ franc
- An 13-M ¼ franc
- An 13-MA ¼ franc
- An 13-T ¼ franc
- An 13-U ¼ franc
- An 13-A ½ franc
- An 13-BB ½ franc
- An 13-D ½ franc
- An 13-H ½ franc
- An 13-I ½ franc
- An 13-K ½ franc
- An 13-L ½ franc
- An 13-M ½ franc
- An 13-MA ½ franc
- An 13-T ½ franc
- An 13-A franc
- An 13-B franc
- An 13-BB franc
- An 13-D franc
- An 13-G franc
- An 13-H franc
- An 13-I franc
- An 13-Q franc
- An 13-U franc
- An 13-W franc
- An 13-A 2 francs
- An 13-BB 2 francs
- An 13-G 2 francs
- An 13-H 2 francs
- An 13-I 2 francs
- An 13-K 2 francs
- An 13-L 2 francs
- An 13-M 2 francs
- An 13-Q 2 francs
- An 13-T 2 francs
- An 13-U 2 francs
- An 13-A 5 francs
- An 13-B 5 francs
- An 13-BB 5 francs
- An 13-D 5 francs
- An 13-G 5 francs
- An 13-H 5 francs
- An 13-I 5 francs
- An 13-K 5 francs
- An 13-L 5 francs
- An 13-M 5 francs
- An 13-Q 5 francs
- An 13-T 5 francs
- An 13-U 5 francs
- An 13-W 5 francs
- An 13-A 20 francs d'or
- An 13-I 20 francs d'or
- An 13-Q 20 francs d'or
- An 13-T 20 francs d'or
- An 13-A 40 francs d'or
- Coins and currency dated 1804