France 1839-A 1/2 franc

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This dime-sized coin was struck at Paris under the régime of king Louis Philippe of France (1830-48). It is a later date of a type struck 1831-45. All half francs of this reign are of this type, which is common. It was replaced in 1845 by a fifty centimes piece (F.183) and demonetized in 1869. The catalog^[1] notes 114 dates for the type, some very rare. This date is common, being priced about 25% higher than the commonest date (1841A, 1842B or 1845B).

Recorded mintage: 635,878^[1], 636,000^[2].

Specification: 2.5 g, 0.900 fine silver, 18 mm diameter, reeded edge.

Catalog reference: F.182/81, KM 741.1.

Source:

• ^[2]Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
• ^[1]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.

Link to:

• 1838-A ½ franc
• 1839-A ¼ franc
• 1839-BB ½ franc
• 1839-A franc
• 1839-W 2 francs
• 1839-A 5 francs
• 1839-B 5 francs
• 1839-D 5 francs
• 1839-W 5 francs
• 1839-A 20 francs
• 1839-W 20 francs
• 1839-A 40 francs
• 1840-A ½ franc
• Coins and currency dated 1839