France 1793-D 30 sols

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Stack's Bowers 2025 ANA sale, lot 43108
SB825-43108r.jpg

This specimen was lot 43108 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Oklahoma City, OK, August 2025), where it sold for $1,800. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Constitution. 30 Sols, Year 5/1793-D. Lyon Mint. Louis XVI. PCGS MS-62. Colorfully toned and pleasingly struck, this nearly-Choice specimen from the final year of issue provides wondrous eye appeal and towers as the sole representative of the type in the PCGS census. From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Spink in 1986 for $564). Ex: Spink Zürich (10/1986) lot # 813." The specimen shown is a 30 sols (equals 1/4 écu) of the Constitutional period (1791-93) during the French Revolution.

Altho the French Revolution famously began with the fall of the Bastille in June 1789, the upheaval was not immediately reflected in the coinage, which continued to be issued using the designs of the ancien régime. In 1791, the first "constitutional" coins appeared, including 3 deniers (= 1 liard), 6 deniers (= 2 liards), 12 deniers (= 1 sol), 2 sols, 15 sols (= 1/8 écu) and 30 sols. "Constitutional" demi-écus and écus appeared in 1792. Only then were the old royal designs discontinued. In 1793, the king was guillotined and a republic instituted. The republicans issued some brass sols and 2 sols and a silver écu de 6 livres before abandoning the system altogether in favor of the franc in 1795.

Recorded mintage: est. 200,000, a better date.

Specification: 10 g, 0.666 fine silver, 28-29.5 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: KM-606.5; Gad-39.

Sources:

  • Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
  • 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.
  • Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
  • [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2025 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Richard August Collection and the Richard Margolis Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.

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