Lucca 1805 5 franchi
The first specimen was lot 40631 in Ponterio sale 168 (Philadelphia, August 2012), where it sold for $862. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALY. Lucca & Piombino. 5 Franchi, 1805. NGC AU-58. Nice strike, toned." The second specimen was lot 47820 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2026), where it sold for $168. The catalog description[2] noted, "ITALY. Lucca & Piombino. 5 Franchi, 1805. Florence Mint. Felix Bacciocchi & Elisa Bonaparte. EF Details--Cleaned. Small busts variety." This five franchi was struck in the duchy of Lucca while it was ruled by Elisa Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon. The type was struck 1805-08, whereupon the tiny state was annexed to Napoleon's empire. After his fall, the duchy was given to a relative of the king of Naples, then attached to Tuscany in 1847. It is now part of Italy.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 24.84 grams, 0.900 fine silver, .718 troy oz ASW, 37 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Dav-203; KM-24.1; Gig-1; Mont-431.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns and Talers, Since 1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
- Gigante, Fabio, Gigante 2016: Catalogo Nazionale delle Monete Italiano Dal '700 All'Euro, 24a ed. Varese, Italy, 2015.
- Montenegro, Eupremio, Montenegro 2015: Manuale del Collezionista di Monete Italiane, 30 ed., Torino, Italy: Montenegro s.a.s., 2014.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, Ponterio sale 168: The Official ANA Auction, Irvine, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2012.
- [2]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2026 NYINC Showcase Auction, Ancient and World Coins, featuring the Kazmier Wysocki Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
Link to: