France 1853-MA 5 centimes

Stack's Bowers October 2024 Collector's Choice sale, lot 74720

This specimen was lot 74720 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice Online Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, October 2024), where it did not sell. The catalog description^[1] noted, "FRANCE. 5 Centimes, 1853-MA. Marseille Mint. Napoleon III. PCGS MS-64 Red Brown. KM-777.6; Gad-152. A wonderous near-Gem example with an abundance of mint red bloom throughout. From the Richard Margolis Collection." The regime of Napoleon III finally carried out plans developed during the 1840's to melt down and remint all the old copper circulating in France, some of it dating back to before the Revolution of 1789. Several branch mints were reopened for this purpose. The existing mints were Paris ("A"), Strasbourg ("BB") and Bordeaux ("K", shown here); the reopened mints were Lille ("W"), Marseilles ("MA"), Rouen ("B") and Lyon ("D"). The total production for this type is about 414 million and the 1853-MA is a slightly better date. The coinage of bronze was suspended in 1857 but resumed in 1861 using a different bust, the "tête laurée." Only Paris, Strasbourg and Bordeaux participated in this later issue.

Recorded mintage: 1,866,267.

Specification: 5 g, bronze, 25 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by Jean-Jacques Barré (1793-1855).

Catalog reference: F.116/6, KM-777.5; Gad-152.

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, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, October 2024 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the S.P. Rutherford Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.

Link to:

France 1853-MA 5 centimes

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