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748-758
UTENLANDSKE MYNTER / FOREIGN COINS
748 Ludvig XIII, 1/12 ecu 1642 KM.131 1 250
749 Ludvig XVI, 2 Louis d`or 1786AA. Blankettfeil på advers/
planchet aw on obverse F.474 1/1+ 1 800
Louis XVI (ruled 1774–1792) and the last louis d’or
Born at the Palace of Versailles in 1754, Louis XVI succeeded his grandfather, Louis XV, as King of France in 1774. Initially, the young
king proved a popular monarch, but throughout the 1770s a number of factors (including expensive military campaigns and poor
harvests) brought France to the point of economic disaster, and the king’s popularity began to wane.
As the crisis deepened, a number of riots broke out, culminating with the storming of the Bastille prison on 14 July 1789. e ensuing
French Revolution swept away the old monarchical system of the Ancien Régime and replaced it with a new form of government based
on the Enlightenment ideals of democracy, citizenship and individual rights. Soon aer the outbreak of the Revolution, Louis XVI
was held under house arrest in Paris. And on 21 January 1793, having been stripped of all titles and honours, he was executed at the
guillotine. His wife, Marie Antoinette, met a similar fate nine months later.
e most important gold coin in France during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was the louis d’or. First struck in 1640 under
King Louis XIII (from whom it acquired its name) the coin continued to be issued right up until the French Revolution. roughout
the reign of Louis XVI an impressive series of ½, 1 and 2 louis d’or gold coins were minted. However, given its royal associations,
following the Revolution the louis d’or was soon withdrawn from circulation, to be replaced rst by the 24 livre piece and then by the
French franc. e very last louis d’or, issued in 1793, was actually struck aer the execution of Louis XVI earlier that same year.
750 752 758
750 Ludvig XVI, Louis d`or 1786W F.475 01 1 800
751 Ludvig XVI, ecu 1793K. Kantskade og små riper/edge nick and minor scratches KM.615.7 1+ 300
752 Napoleon I, 20 francs 1807A F.499 1/1+ 900
753 Ludvig XVIII, 5 francs 1815A KM.702.1 1/1+ 200
754 Ludvig XVIII, 5 francs 1816B KM.711.2 1/1+ 150
755 Karl X, 5 francs 1828W KM.728.13 1+ 150
756 Karl X, 1/4 franc 1830A KM.722.1 1+/01 100
757 Louis Napoleon, 5 francs 1852A KM.773.1 1/1+ 175
758 Napoleon III, 50 francs 1859BB. Liten kantskade/minor edge nick F.572 01 1 300
Napoleon III (ruled 1852–70), 50 francs
Following the massive social and political upheaval caused by the French Revolution of 1789, the new revolutionary government
attempted to introduce a greater degree of rationality and logic into the aairs of France. As part of this process a new decimal coinage
system was introduced, with the franc selected as the new monetary unit in place of the traditional gold louis d’ors and silver écus.
e rst gold coins of the new system – 20 franc and 40 franc pieces – were issued at the beginning of the nineteenth century under
Napoleon Bonaparte (ruled 1804–1814/15). ese denominations remained the only circulating gold coins in France until the
introduction in 1850 of the 10 franc coin under the Second Republic (1848–1852). During the subsequent reign of Napoleon III
(ruled 1852–70), the 40 franc coin disappeared from the French monetary system, while gold 50 and 100 franc coins were added. A 5
franc gold coin was also introduced at this time, so that the full range of Napoleon III’s gold coinage consisted of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100
franc pieces.
Two types of 50 franc coin were issued under Napoleon III. e rst was struck between 1855–1860 and featured Napoleon’s bareheaded
portrait on the obverse. In 1861, Napoleon III’s victory at the Battle of Magenta was commemorated by commissioning a new
obverse design on the French coinage, featuring a laureate portrait of the emperor. is new portrait was used on the second 50 franc coin
issued between 1862 and 1868. Both 50 franc types share a common reverse motif, which makes full use of imperial symbolism, with its
Napoleonic shield and majestic Napoleonic eagle. Interestingly, the rooster had long been a recognized symbol of France, but this was
rejected by Napoleon I on the grounds that “the rooster has no strength, in no way can it stand as the image of an empire such as France”.
100 OSLO MYNTHANDEL AUKSJON NR. 64