French West Africa 1944 50 centimes
This specimen was lot 74429 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2023), where it sold for $144. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRENCH WEST AFRICA. 50 Centimes, 1944. London Mint. NGC PROOF-64. A VERY SCARCE Proof example with mirrorlike brilliance to the fields and smartly frosted devices providing excellent visual contrast. Thoroughly satisfying for the grade, technical quality certainly rivals Gem preservation. A good candidate for advanced specialists of French West Africa." French West Africa was an administrative grouping of the various French colonies in West Africa, including Mauretania, Senegal, Dahomey, French Sudan (now Mali), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Niger and French Guinea. Togo was added later. All obtained independence by the early 1960's and today the coinage is obsolete. This coin was minted in London during World War Two for the Free French regime there. It is somewhat scarce in choice condition.
Recorded mintage: 10,000,000 plus proofs.
Specification: aluminum bronze, 18 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-1; Lec-1.
- Gadoury, Victor, and George Cousinié, Monnaies Coloniales Françaises, 1670-1988, 2me Éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 1988.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, September 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancient & World Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
Link to: