View source for French Colonies 1781-R 3 sous KM-E2

[[Image:SA47-1276.jpg|550px|thumb|Stephen Album sale 47, lot 1276]]

This specimen was lot 1276 in Stephen Album sale 47 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2023), where it sold for $570. The catalog description<sup>[1]</sup> noted, "[[French Colonies|FRENCH COLONIES]]: Louis XVI, 1774-1790, BI 3 sous (sols), 1781-R, Essai issue, lustrous, NGC graded MS62, ex Rudman Collection. Despite these being essais, Lecompte says that many of these are worn and thus apparently circulated." This essai was struck at the sugar islands' peak profitability yet the Caribbean had a chronic shortage of coin.

''Recorded mintage:'' unknown.

''Specification:'' 28.10 g, .948 fine silver, this specimen 28.06 g. 

''Catalog reference:'' KM-E2, Lecompte-281.

''[[Bibliography|Source:]]''
* Byrne, Ray, ''Coins and Tokens of the Caribees,'' Decatur, IL: Jess Peters, Inc., 1
* Gadoury, Victor, and George Cousinié, ''Monnaies Coloniales Françaises, 1670-1988, 2me Éd.,''  Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 1988.
* Michael, Thomas, ''Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed.,'' Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
* <sup>[1]</sup>Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, ''Auction 47'', Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2023.

''Link to:''
* [[French Colonies (1779-97) 2 sols]] "stampee"
* [[French Colonies (1793) 3 sols 9 deniers]]
* [[Coins and currency dated 1781]]

[[Category:Selections from Stephen Album sale 47]]