Luxembourg 1855-A 10 centimes
This specimen was lot 2814 in Stephen Album sale 45 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2023), where it sold for $288. The catalog description[1] noted, "LUXEMBOURG: Willem III, 1849-1890, AE 10 centimes, 1855-A, type II mintmark, a superb example with much red luster! PCGS graded MS65 RB. Struck at the Paris mint from 1855 to 1860, with the anchor privy mark of the general engraver, M Désiré-Albert Barre and the hand mark of Mr. Charles-Louis Dierickx, Director of the Paris Mint." Luxembourg was long part of the Burgundian Netherlands, the Spanish Netherlands, the Austrian Netherlands and finally Napoleonic France. Only sporadically had coins been struck specifically for the duchy. At the Congress of Vienna, Luxembourg was attached to the kingdom of the Netherlands but was inside the German Confederation. As such, the king of the Netherlands struck coins for his new domain. This type was struck in Utrecht 1854 and 1870 and at Paris 1855, 1860 and 1865. Five and 2½ centime pieces were also made. Matching the module of a French ten centimes of Napoleon III, it likely also circulated in France and Belgium. In 1830, most of the duchy joined the new state of Belgium but a sliver remained part of the Netherlands and was under Dutch rule until the death of William III in 1890.
Recorded mintage: 1,200,000.
Specification: 10 g, bronze.
Catalog reference: KM-23.2.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 45, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2022.
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