Lucca 1808 franco
This one franco was struck in the duchy of Lucca while it was ruled by Elisa Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon. The five franchi appears fairly regularly in auctions but this smaller type is very seldom seen. 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. The second specimen was lot 34327 in Heritage sale 3082 (New York, January 2020), where it sold for $780. The catalog description[1] noted, "Italy: Lucca. Felix Bacciocchi & Elisa Bonaparte Franco 1808 MS63 PCGS, Florence mint. Extremely rare in this choice grade, the vast majority of examples coming heavily circulated. Additionally toned with a generous cabinet iridescence over argent fields, this is a coin not to go overlooked."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 5 grams, 0.900 fine silver, .144 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM 23.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- 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.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Online Auction 3082, featuring the Caranett Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2019.
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