I have 1 special ancient to share but I am saving it for sometime in Dec since I am done buying ancients for the year. Lately I have been scarfing up France & British coinage. Picked up 2 Medieval France Blancs for cheap. They are not perfect, but for about $20 each, couldn't complain and I have a weird attraction to ragged flans. And although modern, a portrait Napoleon coin was high on my want list, higher than many ancients. Finally scored one within my budget. LOUIS XI (1461 - 1483 A.D.) France Blanc à la couronne O: A/+ LVDOVICVS* FRANCOR* REX Arms of France surrounded by three crowns all in double trilobe R: R/+ SIT* NOMEN* DNI* BENEDICTVM, Cross pattée in double quadrilobe; fleur-de-lis in 1st and 4th quarters, crown in 2nd and 3rd; stop below 19th letter of legend. 22mm 2.14g Duplessy 550 Louis XII (1498 - 1514 A.D.) France Blanc à la couronne Point sous la 10ème lettre, atelier de Limoges. O: A/ LVDOVICVS FRANCORVM REX, Arms of France surrounded by three crowns all in double trilobe. R: R/ SIT NOMEN DNI BENEDICTV, Cross pattée in double quadrilobe; fleur-de-lis in 1st and 4th quarters, crown in 2nd and 3rd. 21mm 2.05g Duplessy 664 Napoleon Bonaparte (1804-1814) France AR 5 Francs O: Head right. R: Value in wreath, date below. Bayonne Mint 36mm 25g Badoury 583. Dav. 84 Rare Mint for this Date
Mat, Fascinating blancs, I would have jumped on those also. As for the Napoleon, you should get at least some ancient points just because of the imperial bust and the title of EMPEREUR (I am a 5 Franc fan myself).
Congrats on the cool purchases @Mat !! I once had two gold coins of Napoleon, but like all the others I once owned, they now are scattered to the wind
Félicitations @Mat pour de beaux achats ! Congrats @Mat on scoring good buys. A silver 5 francs is somewhat spectacular Q
Nice medieval French, Mat. Know very little about them, but do appreciate them. The 5 franc Napoleon from Bayonne looks good. It is a nice pick-up. Napoleonic coins are one of my favorites as well, and I buy them whenever I see them priced conveniently. I was happy to find this Demi Franc An 13 from Limoges not long ago. The seller didn't know what he had, and neither did I. It is apparently quite a scarce issue.
Medieval France, eh? Man, you coin dudes must be getting kinda sick of seeing these babies from Lorraine => oh, well, here they come again!! ... sorry, but nobody puts Baby in a corner!!
[/USER]AN13, would that date it to 1805?[/QUOTE] Hi Orfew, I had to look it up. You are correct. According to Wikipedia L'an 13 started on 23rd. September 1804 and ended on 22nd. September 1805.
Thanks very much for the reply. I have been looking at picking up a gold 20 francs piece from the same era. i just have to decide if I want republican or imperial.
Here's my only coin from Revolutionary-era France. Fittingly, it's a low-grade copper, the sort that would be used by a humble proletarian of the sort the revolutionaries claimed to represent. France, 5 centimes, Year 8 (=1799-1800), mintmark W= Lille.
