French Colonies 1843-A 10 centimes
This specimen was lot 6888 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $192. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRENCH COLONIES. 10 Centimes, 1843-A. Paris Mint. Louis Philippe I. NGC MS-61 Brown. A boldly struck coin, exhibiting deep chocolate brown patina, soft luster, and no distracting surface marks." This specimen was struck in Paris for the French colonies in the Caribbean. The type was struck 1839-44. There is a similar five centimes. The success of this issue was used as a precursor to the large copper issues of Napoleon III in France during the 1850's.
Numista states the first two dates were sent to Guadeloupe in the Caribbean and the 1843-44 to the Marquesas Islands in the south Pacific. The 1840's is when France first took an interest in colonizing those islands but we aren't sure when their control was complete enough to justify the introduction of coinage. Catholic missionaries struggled for decades to suppress tribal warfare and human sacrifice. In addition, European diseases caused a demographic collapse; from an estimate of 50,000 pre-contact, the population dropped to 11,900 in 1853 and to 2,255 in 1926. Other island groups suffered as well but none so bad as the Marquesas.
Recorded mintage: 101,000 plus proofs, a better date.
Specification: bronze, designed by Nicolas Tiolier.
Catalog reference: KM-13; Lec-317.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Byrne, Ray, Coins and Tokens of the Caribees, Decatur, IL: Jess Peters, Inc., 1975.
- Gadoury, Victor, and George Cousinié, Monnaies Coloniales Françaises, 1670-1988, 2me Éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 1988.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 NYINC Sale: World and Ancient Coins, featuring the Mark and Lottie Salton Collection and the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
Link to: