Subalpine republic 5 francs l'an 10

laurentyvan

I believe Elverno showed this piece a while ago and it interested me. So when I came across this coin today in a nice VG+ condition, I recognized it and purchased it. Subalpine republic 5 francs l'an 10 .900 silver, mintage of 33,000.

Many of you will know that Napoleon established this republic in 1798 in the Piedmont area of Northwest Italy which was the mainland possession of the kingdom of Sardinia.

This is a coin that can be legitimately collected as French or Italian-Perhaps a more knowledgeable collector can give me more information.

elverno

Wow! a beautiful example; much nicer than either of mine. These are much scarcer than you might think. A knowledgeable Italian collector told me that the mint records show that about a third of these coins were released to circulation and the remainder were melted down when the Republic came to its quick demise. This contradicts what I had heard from another Italian who stated with some authority that there were many more (140k) produced. I tend to believe my more recent information as it comes from a man who has specialized in the small Republics' coinage for over thirty years.

A perfect example of what I would call a medallic coin; this and the Cisapline Republic's 30 Soldi piece were engraved by Amadeo Lavy, a prominent medallist of the period. Very nice indeed!

CIVITAS

Plus it was awfully nice of them to sell you a nicely toned VF coin for the price of a VG. Something tells me you got a real steal on that one.

Nice coin.

ccrdragon

Really nice coin and great pix too!!!

laurentyvan

$52.00

I think Krause has it at $40 in VG and $60 in fine-seemed awful low to me for a mintage of 33,000, considering its history and condition; yes, I thought the coin was at least about fine, perhaps fine. Thanks Civitas! VF makes it a nice purchase.

My dealer also has a Swiss piece, $550, Beromuenster, undated, 1720 issue, silver, Krause #4. Graded VF by the dealer.
I had no camera with me and its a 60 mile round trip jaunt, so... no image. This thing is freakin' gorgeous! Perchance, does anyone have an image and can I get an evaluation of the price quoted?

Edited to add: By the way, the relief on this coin is very high, perhaps the highest of any coin I own. Was this this common for the type?

cosmicdebris

That is a great piece.

elverno

$52 in any of those grades is a steal. He let you have it for near wholesale as far as I can see. Perhaps it had sat in inventory for a while...

laurentyvan

He had it three days, part of a collection he just bought and is still cataloging into his inventory. About 40 nice coins, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, mostly crown size. Almost all early 1800's, and the beauty part is only a couple were cleaned and the majority have that nice original gray toning. Some very nice pieces that I pray will not sell over the next couple of weeks. (except to me, I hope)

It's terrible to suddenly have an embarassment of riches...