France 1791 5 livres

from the Stack's Bowers 2024 ANA sale, lot 43060

This specimen was lot 43060 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2024), where it sold for $16,800. The catalog description^[1] noted,

"Exceptionally Preserved Assignat with Flawless Parchment, FRANCE. Constitution. Bell Metal Assignat of 5 Livres with Added Parchment, 1791. Paris Mint. Louis XVI. PCGS MS-64. Lettered edge. Featuring parchment inserts into each side, this wondrously preserved Assignat of 5 Livres no doubt stands as one of the finest known, with tremendous quality observed on both the inserts as well as the metal itself. Straddling the lines of numismatics, scripophily, and notaphily, it presents the bust of the king with a stunning level of detail remaining. Meanwhile, the reverse inset features two different colors, each of which remain enchantingly intact. An EXTREMELY RARE opportunity for a piece that is virtually unrivaled. From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Hans Schulman on 28 October 1957). Ex: Charles N. Cooley Collection (acquired from Hans Schulman on 4 February 1950). Ex: Duplicates of the Palace Collections of Egypt [King Farouk] (Schulman - 2/1950) Lot # 42. Ex: Virgil M. Brand Collection (as "Ferrari-Brand," Schulman - ca. 1932) Lot # 2961. Ex: Baron Phillipe de Ferrari la Renotière Collection."

The history and motivation of this pattern is obscure but we surmise that it was intended to replace paper assignats much the same way encased postage was supposed to supplant early postal currency in the American Civil War. A silver écu was six livres before the Revolution but paper money inflation had reduced the value of five livres to something close to two sols (1/60 écu). This denomination was never ordered into production.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: metal du cloche; this specimen 18.97 g.

Catalog reference: Maz-194 (R5); Guilloteau-222; Ciani-2262; Hennin-339.

Source:

• Ciani, Louis, Les Monnaies Royales Françaises de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI, avec indication de leur valuer actuelle, Paris, 1926 (reprinted in Barcelona, 1965).
• Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
• 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 2024 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Emilio M. Ortiz Collection, The Richard Margolis Collection and The Rutherford Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
• 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.

Link to:

• 1791-A sol à l'écu
• 1791-B sol à l'écu
• 1791-D sol à l'écu
• 1791-K sol à l'écu
• 1791-R sol à l'écu
• 1791-W sol à l'écu
• 1791-A 12 deniers
• 1791-AA 12 deniers
• 1791-BB 12 deniers
• 1791-D 12 deniers
• 1791-A 2 sols Constitutionnel
• 1791-AA 2 sols Constitutionnel
• 1791-B 2 sols Constitutionnel
• 1791-K 2 sols Constitutionnel
• 1791-W 2 sols Constitutionnel
• Monneron Freres 1791 2 sols
• Caisse de Bonne Foy 1791 2 sols 6 deniers token
• Caisse de Bonne Foi (1791) 3 sols token
• 1791-A 15 sols
• 1791-AA 15 sols
• 1791-H 15 sols
• 1791-I 15 sols
• 1791-MA 15 sols
• 1791-W 15 sols
• 1791-A 30 sols
• 1791-I 30 sols
• 1791-W 30 sols
• 1791-A demi-écu au buste habillé
• 1791-T demi-écu au buste habillé
• 1791 écu, design competition
• 1791-A écu au buste habillé
• 1791-H écu au buste habillé
• 1791-I écu au buste habillé
• 1791-A double louis d'or à la tête nue
• 1792-A 2 sols
• 1792-AA 2 sols
• 1792-B 2 sols
• 1793-B 2 sols au balance
• Coins and currency dated 1791
• return to French royal coinage (to 1793)