France 1846-W 20 francs

Jean Elsen sale 124, lot 1141

This specimen was lot 1141 in Jean Elsen sale 124 (Brussels, March 2015), where it sold for €1,500 (about US$1,870 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"FRANCE, Louis-Philippe (1830-1848), AV 20 francs, 1846 W, Lille. Seulement 1408 p. frappées. Très Rare. Très Beau à Superbe. (France, Louis-Philippe (1830-48), gold twenty francs of 1846, Lille mint. Very rare, very fine to extremely fine.)"

This type, struck 1832-48, was recalled in 1928 and demonetized in 2005 but ceased to circulate during World War One. It superseded the Tiolier head used 1830-31 (F.524 and F.525). Branch mint issues include Rouen (mintmark "B"), Lille (mintmark "W") and Bayonne (mintmark "L"). Records show 773,000 forty franc pieces were minted during the reign, compared to 9.13 million twenty franc pieces and 335 million silver five franc pieces. This date is rare.

Specification: 21 mm diameter, 6.45 grams, 0.900 fine gold, edge lettered DIEU PROTEGE LA FRANCE, designed by Joseph François Domard (1792-1858).

Recorded Mintage: 1,402^[1] (a rare date).

Catalog reference: Gad-1031; F.527/36, Fr-560.

Source:

• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• ^[1]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies. Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
• ^[2]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 124, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2015.
• Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.

Links to:

• 1845-A 20 francs
• 1845-W 20 francs
• 1846-A 25 centimes
• 1846-A 50 centimes
• 1846-A franc
• 1846-A 2 francs
• 1846-A 5 francs
• Coins and currency dated 1846