Greece 1876-A 5 drachmai Fr-17
This specimen was lot 1480 in Sincona sale 66 (Zürich, October 2020), where it sold for 2,000 CHF (about US$2,633 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"GREICHENLAND. Georg I. 1863-1913. 5 Drachmen 1876 A, Paris. Selten. Überdurchschnittliche Erhaltung. (kingdom of Greece, George I, 1863-1913, gold five drachmas of 1876, Paris mint. Rare. PCGS AU55, Extraordinary condition.)"
The second specimen was lot 1224 in Künker sale 352 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €1,200 (about US$1,670 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[2] noted,
"GRIECHENLAND, Georg I. 1863-1913. 5 Drachmen 1876, A, Paris. Feingold. GOLD. R Kl. Druckstelle, sehr schön. (kingdom of Greece, George I, 1863-1913, five drachmas of 1876, Paris mint. Very fine.)"
This one-year type was struck in Paris 1875-76 for king George I (1863-1913) to the standard of a French gold five francs. Greece, poor, backward, corrupt and riven by feuds, could ill afford a substantial gold coinage and this is the only issue. Proofs are reported to exist.
Recorded mintage: 9,294.
Specification: 1.61 g, 0.900 fine gold.
Catalog reference: KM 47, Divo 49. Schl. 8. Fr-17.
- Jean-Paul Divo, Modern Greek Coins, 1828-1968. Amsterdam: Jacques Schulman NV, 1968.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Jürg Richter, Auction 66, Gold and Silver Coins and Medals, featuring the Claude Stritt Collection, Zürich: Sincona AG, 2020.
- [2]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Künker Auktion 352: Die Sammlung Hermann Schwarz: Faszination des gepragten Goldes. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2021.
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