France 1793-K 30 sols

From CoinVarieties
Revision as of 11:06, 21 October 2025 by LatinKing2020 (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Stack's Bowers 2025 ANA sale, lot 71073
SB925-71073r.jpg

This specimen was lot 71073 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $288. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Constitution. 30 Sols, 1793-K/Year 5/4. Bordeaux Mint. Louis XVI. PCGS VF-35. Fairly deeply toned and moderately circulated, this minor offers an overdate in the year for the constitutional calendar. From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Peters in 1972 for $30). Ex: Jess Peters (10/1972) Lot # 244." The specimen shown is a 30 sols (equals 1/4 écu) of the Constitutional period (1791-93) during the French Revolution. It was struck at the Bordeaux mint (mintmark "K") and is a rare date of its type, the overdate not mentioned.

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: unknown, a rare date.

Specification: 10 g, 0.666 fine silver, .214 troy oz ASW, 28 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: KM-606.8; 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.

Link to:

Retrieved from "https://coinvarieties.com/index.php?title=France_1793-K_30_sols&oldid=576166"