France L'AN9-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. 10.01 g. VERY FINE. 2) Year 8-A. Paris. 10.28 g. 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. 10.19 g. VERY FINE. 7) Year 9-BB. Strasbourg. 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." The regime's first attempt at issuing copper five, ten and twenty centimes was a flop. During An 5, the government tried again with larger coins, increasing the 5 centimes to 10 g and the décime to 20 g and abandoning the double décime. The revised types met with some success and they were issued in substantial numbers until An 9. Leftover stocks of light weight décimes were overstruck into five centimes and double décimes converted into décimes. In all, about 140 million five centimes were produced. They circulated until the 1850's and today few are found in Very Fine or better. During An 9, this type was struck at Paris (mintmark "A"), Strasbourg ("BB", shown here), Lyon ("D"), Geneva ("G"), Limoges ("I"), Bordeaux ("K") and Lille ("W"). None are common and some are rare. Le Franc[2] reports this as a slightly better date.
Recorded mintage: 1,614,904.
Specification: 10 g, copper, 28 mm diameter, decorated edge. This specimen 10.54 g.
Catalog reference: F.115/84, KM 640, Gad-126b.
- 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.
- [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, 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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