France L'AN7-BB 5 centimes
This specimen was part of lot 71332 in Stack's Bowers June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, June 2026), which sold for $671. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Directory. Group of 5 Centimes (10 Pieces), Years 5-9 (1796-1801). Grade Range: GOOD Details to ABOUT UNCIRCULATED. 1) Year 8/6-A/B. Paris. VERY FINE. 2) Year 8-A. Paris. EXTREMELY FINE. 3) Year 5-AA. Metz. 11.13 g. VERY FINE. 4) Year 5-B. Rouen. 9.25 g. ABOUT UNCIRCULATED. 5) Year 5-B. Rouen. 9.79 g. GOOD. scratched. 6) Year 7/5-BB. Strasbourg. VERY FINE. 7) Year 9-BB. Strasbourg. 10.54 g. VERY FINE. Environmental Damage. 8) Year 5-D. Lyon. 10.11 g. EXTREMELY FINE. Scratched. 9) Year 5-T. Nantes. 8.09 g. VERY FINE. Scratched. 10) ND. Double Obverse Counterfeit. SOLD AS IS/NO RETURNS. From the Richard Margolis Collection." During An 7, this type was struck at Paris ("A"), Strasbourg ("BB", shown here), Lyon ("D"), Bordeaux ("K") and Lille ("W"). Paris produced the majority. The dies for this issue were recycled extensively, resulting in a plethora of overdates and repunched mintmarks. This example has an 7/5 overdate. Some have a BB/A repunched mintmark. In all, about 140 million were produced for the type. They circulated in France until the 1850's and today few are found in Very Fine or better.
Recorded mintage: 160,605.
Specification: bronze, 10 g, 28 mm diameter, "chevronned" edge, designed by Augustin Dupré (1748-1833); this specimen 10.19 g.
Catalog reference: F.115/31 thru F.115/34, KM 640.4.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 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, June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction - Selections from the L.E. Bruun Collection, the Richard Margolis Collection and the Kirk Menczer Collection of Republican Reales Minors, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2026.
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