France L'AN 4-A 5 francs
The first specimen shown was struck at the Paris mint during the French First Republic (1793-99) and was meant to replace the écu of the ancien régime after the execution of king Louis XVI. The Gregorian calendar was replaced by the revolutionary calendar. Year 4, shown here, comprised September 1795 thru September 1796. This "Hercules" type was struck until year 11 (1802-03) from numerous mints, tho only Paris is known for year 4. Le Franc[1] has reanalyzed the type, assigning it catalog numbers 287 thru 300, depending on the position of the obverse legend ("UNION ET FORCE"), the details of the oak wreath on the reverse and so forth. As each die was hand made, the varieties are as numerous as those of United States bust half dollars or early large cents. Overdates and repunched mintmarks and privy marks are common. The type was produced in the millions and is not rare in low grades but the price ascends rapidly with grade. The second specimen was lot 43284 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2024), where it sold for $21,600. The catalog description[2] noted,
"Thought to Be a Specimen Striking by Margolis, FRANCE. Directory. Silver 5 Francs Essai (Pattern), Year 4-A (1795/6). Paris Mint. PCGS SPECIMEN-64. Struck in collar. A SCARCER type featuring a round planchet and some evidence of an upset rim from its striking in a collar, this near-Gem crown dazzles with a wonderfully toned canvas, with an iridescent palette populated by hues of cobalt, magenta, burgundy, amber, and goldenrod sprinkled enticingly throughout. This example appears to offer a sharper strike and a more elegantly produced planchet than normal. Indeed, Margolis notes the planchet's status as flan bruni, and that "...evidently, a few specimen strikings on polished flans of the Hercules Group 5 francs were made each year at the Paris mint." Accordingly, PCGS agrees on these points, designating with a specimen status. From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Will Robins [Goldeneye Numismatics] at NYINC on 9 January 2010.)."
Recorded mintage: 3,184,061 (all varieties).
Specification: 25 g, 0.900 fine silver, edge lettered GARANTIE NATIONALE, designed by Augustin Dupré (1748-1833). The second specimen is 24.87 g.
Catalog reference: Gad-563; Dav-1337, F.287/1 ("UNION ET FORCE" closed), F.288/1 ("UNION ET FORCE" closed), F.291/1 ("UNION ET FORCE" open, shown here); KM 639.1.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- George Sobin, Jr., The Silver Crowns of France, 1640-1973. Teaneck, NJ: Richard Margolis, 1974.
- [1]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
- [2]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.
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