France 1783-A louis d'or
This specimen was lot 99127 in Heritage sale 61253 (Dallas, January 2022), where it sold for $2,880. The catalog description[1] noted, "France: Louis XVI gold Louis d'Or 1783/2-A AU55 NGC, Paris mint. Inspiringly brilliant considering any degree of time spent in circulation, coupled with a lovely honey-gold tone that blankets the lustrous surfaces. Light wisps are observable throughout, though the designs themselves reveal only minimal wear. The first example of this overdate that we have encountered." The specimen shown is a louis au buste habillé of the Paris mint. The louis of Louis XVI continued to be struck to the standard of 1726 but the price of gold had risen, making the type uneconomical to issue. In 1785, Calonne lowered the weight to 7.64 grams and recoined all the stocks in government hands, rendering this earlier type very rare. Overdates are fairly numerous in the French royal series but have received little attention.
Recorded mintage: 89,670[2], a common date of a rare type.
Specification: 8.15 g, 0.917 fine gold, reeded edge.
Catalog reference: Fr-471, Dr/4 № 879, Dr/2 № 602, KM 567.1, Dupl-1704, Gad-359.
- [2]Droulers, Frédéric, Répertoire General des Monnaies de Louis XIII à Louis XVI (1610-1792), 4e édition. Paris: AFPN, 2009.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Royales Françaises, 1610-1792, 5me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2018.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, The Brittany Collection of French Coins Showcase Auction #61253, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.
Link to:
- 1782-A louis d'or au buste habillé
- 1783-W liard à l'écu
- 1783-A demi-sol à l'écu
- 1783-A dixième d'écu au buste habillé
- 1783-A vingtième d'écu au buste fort
- 1783-A cinquième d'écu au buste habillé
- 1783-A écu au buste habillé
- 1783-L écu au buste habillé
- 1783-W écu au buste habillé
- 1783 écu au buste habillé du Béarn
- 1783-W double louis d'or au buste habillé
- 1784-A demi-louis d'or au buste habillé
- 1785-A louis d'or à la tête nue
- Coins and currency dated 1783
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)