FRENCH COIN COLLECTING ?
The Coins of the Revolution
| The Revolution was only yesterday. Even if we consider it disqualified by its excesses, even if it is more and more condemned as being the forerunner to Leninism and Trotskyism ; it cannot be denied that the upheaval caused in Europe, enabled Europe-which at this time was still very traditionalist- to join the United States of America in the group of nations that were politically modern at the time. |
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A 15 Sols of the Revolution , struck in Limoges in Year III of
Liberty. Estimated at : 1 500 FRF
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A 12 Deniers, with a faisceau, struck in 1792 in Strasbourg. Estimated
at : 2 500 FRF.
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Numismatics of the Revolution is particularly exciting : between 1789 and 1795 three numismatic periods follow one another and sometimes overlap : - Royal Numismatics of LUDOVICUS XVI FRANCORUM REX, that is Louis XVI, King of the Franks (and not King of the French ) from 1789 to 1792. - Constitutional Numismatics with LOUIS ROI DES FRANCOIS in 1792 and 1793. - Conventional Numismatics with REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE from 1793 to 1794,dated year II of the Republic. |
| The reference work dealing with this period 'REVOLUTION' , classes all known coins in types and varieties but many variants of mints and of legends are missing. It is an area which has no reference collection and where research is still to be done. |
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An example of the original 5-franc piece, struck in Year 7 in PARIS. Estimated, according to its condition, at 250 to 10 000 FRF. |
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| Since hoards of coins were often buried by the victims of persecutions, many treasures have been found, sometimes with coins in an exceptional state of preservation. |
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A jeton, figuring the portrait of Louis XVII, who died at the age
of 10.
.Estimation : 1500 FRF |
| Many medals and jetons represent the most famous characters of the era, Louis XVI, of course, Marie-Antoinette, and the little martyr king Louis XVII, but no coins exist featuring the portraits of the revolutionaries like Robespierre, Danton or Marat. |
