Geneva 1840 centime
This specimen was lot 75436 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2022), where it sold for $100. The catalog description[1] noted, "SWITZERLAND. Geneva. Centime, 1840. NGC MS-66 Brown. Pop: 1, none graded finer by NGC in Brown, and not graded this fine in Red Brown or Red. A gorgeous little Gem, with lustrous, glossy surfaces, and mint red still clinging to the protected areas." Geneva, one of the cantons of Switzerland, struck coins sporadically throughout the eighteenth century. The coinage was interrupted by Napoleonic occupation but resumed in 1817. In 1839, the coinage was decimalized to 100 centimes = one franc and one, two, four, ten and twenty-five centimes were issued, all in billon. None are rare today. In 1848, Geneva was incorporated into the reformed Swiss Confederation and coinage for the individual cantons ceased. This type was also struck in 1844 and 1846.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: billon.
Catalog reference: KM-130; HMZ 2-370b.
- Divo, Jean-Paul, and Edwin Tobler, Die Münzen der Schweiz, im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, Zürich: Bank Leu & Co AG, 1969.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Richter, Jürg, and Ruedi Kunzmann, Neuer HMZ-Katalog, Band 2: Die Münzen der Schweiz und Liechtensteins 15//16. Jahrhundert bis Gegenwart, Regenstauf, Germany: H. Gietl Verlag GmbH, 2006.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The February 2022 World Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancients & World Coins, Featuring Selections from the Kings Norton Mint Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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