France 1921 5 centimes KM-842

Stack's Bowers 2021 ANA sale, lot 40320

photo courtesy Stack's Bowers LLC

This specimen was lot 40320 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Costa Mesa, CA, August 2021), where it sold for $1,440. The catalog description^[1] noted, "FRANCE. 5 Centimes, 1921. Paris Mint. NGC AU Details--Cleaned. A 20th century RARITY, this briefly circulated example has been lightly cleaned in the past, but the in-hand appearance has not been dramatically influenced. Far nicer than the last example that sold at auction (in 2019 @ 2,500 Euros hammer), that piece having received a grade of EF Detail - Environmental Damage from PCGS." This is the final date of the bronze five centimes first struck for Napoleon III in 1853. It was superseded by a smaller copper-nickel issue introduced during World War One.

Recorded mintage: 142,000 plus 32,908,000 in copper-nickel (KM 875).

Specification: 5 g, bronze, 25 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by Jean-Baptiste Daniel-Dupuis (1849-99).

Catalog reference: F.119/32, KM-842; Gad-165.5.

Source:

• Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
• Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• ^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The August 2021 ANA sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.

Link to:

• 1920 bronze 5 centimes
• 1920 copper-nickel 5 centimes, large diameter
• 1921 copper-nickel 5 centimes
• 1921 bronze 10 centimes
• Evreux 1921 10 centimes
• 1921 25 centimes
• 1921 50 centimes
• 1921 franc
• 1921 2 francs
• Coins and currency dated 1921