France 1793-AA 2 sols KM-621.2

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Stack's Bowers October 2025 Collectors Choice sale, lot 71161
SB925-71161r.jpg

This specimen was lot 71161 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $960. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. National Convention. Bell Metal 2 Sols, Year II/1793-AA. Metz Mint. PCGS AU-55. Standing as the only such example of the type in the PCGS census, this near-Mint survivor presents excellent overall preservation and quality. From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Bernard Southgate on 17 August 1973)." This coin was minted at Metz during the throes of the Revolution. 1793 was the year the king was tried and executed. Amid the chaos, large quantities of these copper two sols were issued, along with six and twelve deniers (half and one sols). The 1791-93 issues bear the bust of the king but his ouster forced the removal of his portrait. The obverse shows the tablet of the law with the motto, "LES HOMMES SONT EGAUX DEVANT LA LOI," (all men are equal before the law) and the reverse shows the balance scales of justice. This type was hurriedly and crudely made and is rarely found better than VG. a scarce type. Double sols conventionnel also exist for 1793 and are somewhat more common.

Altho the French Revolution famously began with the fall of the Bastille in June 1789, the upheaval was not immediately reflected in the coinage, which continued to be issued using the designs of the ancien régime. In 1791, the first "constitutional" coins appeared, including 3 deniers (= 1 liard), 6 deniers (= 2 liards), 12 deniers (= 1 sol), 2 sols, 15 sols (= 1/8 écu) and 30 sols. "Constitutional" demi-écus and écus appeared in 1792. Only then were the old royal designs discontinued. In 1793, the king was guillotined and a republic instituted. The republicans issued some brass sols and 2 sols and a silver écu de 6 livres before abandoning the system altogether in favor of the franc in 1795.

Recorded mintage: unknown; all dates are scarce.

Specification: 24.47 g, bronze or metal du cloche.

Catalog reference: KM-621.2; Gad-31.

Sources:

  • Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
  • Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
  • Guilloteau, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, Colonies 1670-1942 et Metropole 1774-1942, Versailles, 1942.
  • Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
  • [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2025 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Richard August Collection and the Richard Margolis Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.

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