France 1875-A 10 centimes
This specimen was lot 74856 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice Online Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2025), where it sold for $384. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. 10 Centimes, 1875-A. Paris Mint. PCGS MS-64 Red Brown." The specimen shown is a ten centimes, Cérès head, of a type struck under the Third Republic of France 1870-98. The majority, including this one, are Paris mint issues but Bordeaux produced this type 1871-78. There are 45 dates in the series, some expensive but only the 1897-A with the fasces privy mark is rare. The 1875-A is a very scarce date. The total production for the series is about fifty million, compared to 258 million Napoleon III "bare head" 10 centimes (1852-57) and 52 million "laureate head" 10 centimes (1861-65). The Cérès head was replaced by the "Marianne" head by Daniel-Dupuis (struck 1898-1921). All the bronze ten centimes pieces were demonetized in 1935.
Recorded mintage: 143,387.
Specification: 10 g, bronze, 30 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by Eugéne-André Oudiné (1810-1887) and Joseph-François Domard (1792-1858).
Catalog reference: KM-815.1; Gad-265a; F.135/14.
- 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, February 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancients, World Coins & World Paper Money, David B. Simpson Medals & World Coins Part 1, Selections from the Richard Margolis Collection, and Selections from the L. E. Bruun Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
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