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French Colonies: copper sou of Louis XV, 1767 (with post-revolutionary "RF" counterstamp)

French Colonies: copper sou of Louis XV, 1767 (with post-revolutionary "RF" counterstamp)

KM6, bronze. Paris mint ("A" mintmark obscured by counterstamp.) PCGS certification pending, March, 2015. Ex- Lost Dutchman Rare Coins (under "indycoindealer" ID, eBay), 11/06/2014.

In 1767, France issued copper sous (or sols) for use in the French Colonies in the Caribbean. Most were counterstamped with an oval punch with the letters "RF" (for "Republique Francaise") after the French Revolution. Many of the counterstamped coins ended up in the American Colonies, and were known to circulate as one cent in New Orleans around the time of the Louisiana Purchase and into the early 19th century. Because of this, they are often cataloged with American "Colonial" issues and are included in the Red Book of United States coins. I bought this particular example for just under $200.00 initially (which was perhaps a tad high- or maybe not, if it later grades VF or better), but due to a mixup which resulted in a long shipping delay, the seller generously refunded my money AND let me keep the coin, which more than made up for the hassle. I thought it would be interesting to have a colonial piece, a counterstamp, and a coin that bridged both World and US categories, so this covers a lot of bases.

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PCGS priceguide trends (NGC priceguide gives no pricing data)
Coinfacts entry for this type
French Coinage for Canada and Louisiana (relevant page from www.coins.nd.edu)

Wikipedia links:
French sol
Louisiana (New France)

When posted here, this coin was part of my "Eclectic Box of 20" collection.

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Comments

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    coffeycecoffeyce Posts: 1,050 ✭✭✭
    Nice coin. counter stamps are some of my favorite coins especially south and central American ones
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    ashelandasheland Posts: 22,688 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Interesting piece!
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    LochNESSLochNESS Posts: 4,829 ✭✭✭
    I'm loving this piece. Thanks for the write-up! I sometimes get frustrated with my holdered counterstamps because you can never fit all the history onto the slab label image

    but your digital label makes a great effort! imageimage
    ANA LM • WBCC 429

    Amat Colligendo Focum

    Top 10FOR SALE

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