Numismatique Grasse coin page, by Maison Or & Bijoux Mougins · reviewed
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Metal | Gold 900/1000 (5.806 g of fine gold) |
| Weight | 6.45 g |
| Diameter | 21 mm |
| Years struck | 1861 to 1870 |
| Mints | Paris (A) and Strasbourg (BB), all ten years |
| Total mintage | About 85.5 million |
| References | Le Franc F.532 |
From 1861, the Emperor appears crowned with laurel on the 20 francs, and the reverse takes on the arms of the Empire. This second napoléon of the reign was struck until 1870 by just two mints. It turns up very often in inheritances, and only a few dates or varieties stand out from the rest.
Napoleon III in profile facing right, a laurel wreath in his hair, the ribbons of the knot falling on the nape. Around the portrait, ‘NAPOLEON III EMPEREUR’; the engraver’s name, BARRE, is inscribed at the base of the neck, topped by a tiny symbol.
An imperial coat of arms: the eagle, talons resting on a thunderbolt, fills the shield; the links of the collar of the Legion of Honour encircle it, and a mantle topped by the crown forms the background. ‘20’ and ‘FR’ on either side, legend ‘EMPIRE FRANÇAIS’. At the bottom, the date, flanked by the mint letter and a second symbol.
Two mints over ten years give twenty rows, all listed here. The differences are large: fewer than a million coins in Paris in 1870, more than nine million in 1868. Once you have read the date, compare the height of the mint letter: some varieties differ in that alone.
| Date | Mint | Mintage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1861 | A | 2,607,054 | First year of the type |
| 1861 | BB | 1,423,199 | Lowest BB mintage |
| 1862 | A | 4,825,915 | ‘Large A’ variety |
| 1862 | BB | 2,906,518 | |
| 1863 | A | 3,920,226 | |
| 1863 | BB | 3,752,567 | |
| 1864 | A | 7,058,905 | |
| 1864 | BB | 3,323,192 | Normal letter or ‘large BB’ |
| 1865 | A | 2,951,440 | Small mintage for Paris |
| 1865 | BB | 3,088,418 | BB ahead of Paris that year |
| 1866 | A | 6,991,671 | |
| 1866 | BB | 6,978,507 | Rare variety with reeded edge |
| 1867 | A | 2,923,024 | Small mintage for Paris |
| 1867 | BB | 4,516,490 | Normal letter or ‘large BB’ |
| 1868 | A | 9,281,061 | Most plentiful year |
| 1868 | BB | 4,829,066 | |
| 1869 | A | 4,046,294 | |
| 1869 | BB | 7,316,553 | Normal letter or ‘large BB’; see note |
| 1870 | A | 864,873 | Smallest mintage of the type |
| 1870 | BB | 1,852,567 | Final year |
Mintages from BDOR, cross-checked with Abacor; varieties from BDOR and Le Franc (F.532). The sum of the rows (85,457,540) is 9,000 below the stated total (85,466,540): one of the rows differs from one source to another. CGB links the figure of 864,873 to a variety of 1869 BB, whereas BDOR and Abacor give it for 1870 A.
Look at the hair. A wreath of leaves, tied behind the head, and two ribbons on the nape: this is the laureate head. Without leaves, the coin is an earlier napoléon, described on the page for the bare-head 20 francs.
Then turn the coin over. The leafy wreath of the 1850s has gone; in its place is a large heraldic design: the eagle in its shield, the collar of the Legion of Honour, the imperial mantle and its crown. The figure 20 and the abbreviation FR are pushed out to the sides.
The new design was set by a law of July 1860 (the 18th), and striking began the following year. Weight and fineness stayed those of every napoléon since 1803. The presses stopped in September 1870, when the Empire fell.
All dates therefore run from 1861 to 1870. A laureate head dated outside those years should be checked. Our French guide to reading a coin explains how to decipher legends and dates.
On this type the mint is read on the reverse, at the foot of the shield: the letter sits just before the date. The letter A stands for Paris, the double BB for Strasbourg. Lyon, which had taken part in 1855, struck no laureate heads.
To the right of the date, look for a tiny design. The 1866 A coin in the Musée Carnavalet shows an anchor, the mark of Albert-Désiré Barre. On the obverse, above the name BARRE, the same specimen carries a bee: that of Alfred Renouard de Bussière, who ran the Paris mint from 1861. The two marks are thus split, one per side, whereas the bare head grouped them below the neck.
One detail requires a comparison coin: the height of the mint letter. Some 1862 Paris coins have a large A, and large BB letters are known for three Strasbourg years: 1864, 1867, 1869. Place two coins of the same date side by side and compare them under a loupe.
Among circulation coins, 1870 A comes first: fewer than 870,000 pieces, struck in a year of war. Next come 1861 BB, Strasbourg’s first year for this type, and 1870 BB, below two million.
The variety collectors look for most is the 1866 BB with reeded edge. Instead of the raised motto, the edge shows a series of ridges. Turn the coin in the light: the difference is visible without a loupe.
The large mint letters form a more accessible group. The large A of 1862 and the three large BB turn up more often, but remain less numerous than the ordinary coins of the same years.
Lastly, there are patterns (trial strikes) of the type, notably dated 1861 and 1862. They stayed in collections and almost never appear in an inheritance.
For all these coins, condition matters as much as date. A coin with little circulation keeps a satin lustre between the letters of the legend; see our French guide to storing coins so as not to damage it.
The laureate napoléon was imitated as early as the Second Empire with gilt platinum pieces. The dates cited by Abacor and BDOR include 1865 BB, 1867 BB and 1868 A. Their weight can deceive, but wear reveals a dull grey beneath the gilding. These period forgeries now interest collectors in their own right.
Modern copies, often in gold, give themselves away through the design: muddled eagle feathers, blurred collar links, laurel leaves without veins, irregular edge lettering. Weigh, measure, and look at the eagle under a loupe.
Some foreign coins share its size and weight to the hundredth of a gram. These are the 20 francs or 20 lire of the Latin Monetary Union, the 19th-century currency agreement, struck in Belgium, Italy or Switzerland with other effigies, and the Genius of the Republic 20 francs after 1870. Napoleon III’s laureate portrait also appears on gold coins of 10, 50 and 100 francs, of very different sizes. For other coins in this metal, see our French section on gold coins.
The laureate heads are the first napoléons struck after the union of 1860. From the summer of that year, the Grasse district no longer belonged to the Var department: Grasse and Nice now came under a single department, the Alpes-Maritimes. The Var river, which had separated the Grasse area from the Sardinian States, ceased to be a border.
Between 1861 and 1870. The laureate portrait and the eagle reverse exist only for those ten years of the Second Empire.
On the reverse, just to the left of the date, below the shield. A stands for Paris, BB for Strasbourg; there is no laureate head from Lyon.
Look at the edge. If it carries the motto ‘DIEU PROTEGE LA FRANCE’ in relief, the coin is the ordinary one. If it shows only ridges, it is the rare variety, to be authenticated.
There is no shop in Grasse: Bertrand Mathieu, numismatist, receives visitors at the Mougins shop, a quarter of an hour away, and offers a free assessment.