How Far Back Can We Go? Sixth Edition! Ended At 1380 Waiting On 1379

1872 Pfennig (Hesse-Darmstadt)




1872 Austria 10 Kreuzer (uncirculated and semi-prooflike)
Very heavy die clash

1872 Indian Head cent
NGC VG 10




1872 Three Cents (Nickel)

Nice Maundy set there, NumisRob!

France 1871, 5 francs, Paris (A) - Camelinat/au trident



One of my a bit more special coins. It is minted by the communards during the Paris Commune, the revolutionary government that ruled Paris during March-May 1871. Silver found in the Tuileries palace and other government buildings was used to mint 5 francs coins (the only type minted). A single detail differs from the French government issue: the small trident on the reverse, to the left of the A mint mark at the bottom - that was the symbol used by the Paris mint master, Zephyrin Camelinat. After the uprising had been brutally suppressed, the coins were retracted and most were melted - but many were also saved by people as mementos/collectibles. (As a sidenote, Camelinat lived on until 1932, aged 91.)

1871 -- Kingdom of Belgium, 20 francs:

1871 -- United Sattes, 2 cents:





(old film pic)

It does. All remaining examples of this coin do, as far as I know. Now, "God protect France" was of course not entirely in line with the views of the socialist government of the Paris Commune, but manufacturing new collars was time consuming, so the existing ones were used. New collars with the text Travail - Garantie Nationale ("Work - National Guarantee"), a phrase going back to the French revolution of 1789, were ordered and at least one manufactured. It was ready at the same time as the French army began entering Paris to suppress the rebellion. Whether any coins with the new edge lettering were actually made during the few days remaining, has been debated. If so, perhaps none escaped the melt pot, or at least none has surfaced.