France 1855-BB 20 francs

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Sincona sale 69, lot 490

This specimen was lot 490 in Sincona sale 69 (Zurich, May 2021), where it sold for 300 CHF (about US$398 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"FRANKREICH. II. Kaiserreich. Napoleon III. 1852-1870. 20 Francs 1855 BB, Strasbourg. Münzzeichen Hundekopf und Biene / Tête de chien et abeille. Sehr schön. (France, second empire, Napoleon III, 1852-70, twenty francs of 1855, Strasbourg mint, privy marks dog's head and bee. Very fine.)"

This "bare head" type of Napoleon III was struck 1853-60 and 18 dates comprise the set. 146,000,000 were struck for the type, making it the most common gold coin of French history with the possible exception of the "rooster" (struck 1898-1914 and repeatedly restruck since). Typical XF-AU specimens trade for their bullion value. This issue has been counterfeited extensively but as most of the fakes contain the correct amount of gold, they trade for the same price as the genuine. This date comes with an anchor privy mark or a dog's head privy mark (shown here), with the dog's head awarded a 50% premium.

Recorded mintage: 1,817,394 (dog's head plus anchor)[2].

Specification: 21 mm diameter, 6.45 grams, 0.900 fine gold, edge lettered DIEU PROTEGE LA FRANCE; this specimen 6.39 g.

Catalog reference: F.531/5 (dog's head); Gadoury 1061. Fr-574, KM 781.2.

Source:

  • Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
  • 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.
  • [2]Prieur, Michel, and Laurent Schmitt, Le Franc 10: Les Monnaies, Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 2014.
  • [1]Jürg Richter, Auction 69, World Coins and Medals, Bullion Auction and Chinese Banknotes, Part 1, Zurich: Sincona AG, 2021.

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