France (1794)-MA sol

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Jean Elsen sale 125, lot 1788

This specimen was lot 1788 in Jean Elsen sale 125 (Brussels, June 2015), where it sold for €380 (about US$506 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"FRANCE, Convention (1792-1795), sol aux balances, s.d.#MA, an 2 (1794), Marseille. D/ Table de la Loi entre une grappe et des épis. R/ Valeur dans une couronne et sous une balance portant le bonnet de la Liberté. Rare presque Très Beau. (France, Convention, 1792-95, sol of the balance without date, year 2, Marseille mint. Obverse: the Table of the Law between a bunch of grapes and an ear of wheat; reverse: value in wreath and balance bearig a liberty cap. Rare, almost very fine.)"

This coin was minted at Marseille during the throes of the Revolution. 1794 was the year of the September Massacres and the Terror. Amid the chaos, large quantities of these copper sols were issued, along with half and two sols. The 1791-93 issues bear the bust of the king but his ouster forced the removal of his portrait. The obverse shows the tablet of the law with the motto, "LES HOMMES SONT EGAUX DEVANT LA LOI," (all men are equal before the law) and the reverse shows the balance scales of justice. This type was hurriedly and crudely made and is rarely found better than VG. Metz is the most common mint.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: bronze or brass, 12.23 g, 29 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: KM 620.6, Gad-21.

Sources:

  • Ciani, Louis, Les Monnaies Royales Françaises de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI, avec indication de leur valuer actuelle, Paris, 1926 (reprinted in Barcelona, 1965).
  • Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
  • 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.
  • [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 125: Collections Dr. Jacques Marneffe, Jean-Marie Chouters et Henri Pottier, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2015.

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