04/02/2026 General, Coins, Bank Notes & Postage Stamps
NEW YORK, NY -- At first blush, this 1868 French 5 Franc gold coin looks much like all of the other coins of its denomination produced at the Paris and Strasbourg Mints from 1862 to 1869. It bears a bust of Napoleon III on its obverse, with Albert Désiré Barre’s signature immediately below the bust’s truncation, flanked by privy marks representing the engraver and mint master responsible for its production. The denomination appears on the reverse encircled by a laurel wreath. The coin’s details are fully intact, though numerous contact marks suggest that it has been handled over its many years. It seems to be an example of a common coin worth little more than its melt value in anything but the best imaginable condition.
A knowledgeable observer might notice that the coin bears what appears to be an “E” mint mark rather than the Paris Mint’s “A” mint mark, or the Strasbourg’s “BB”. The privy mark to the left of Barre’s name is a star, not the bee of Alfred Renouard de Bussière, the mint master in Paris from 1860 to 1879, or the cross of Henri Delbecque, Strasbourg’s mint master from 1860 to 1870. The coin’s fields (a numismatic term for the flat negative space around the design elements) demonstrates a Prooflike reflectivity that, though not unheard-of on business-strike gold 5 Franc coins of the era, is eye-catching and unusual.
Taken together, these unusual qualities indicate that the coin is not a business-strike 1868 Five Franc. This coin is in fact an essai, or a test coin, part of a small suite of similar coins produced in 1868 at the Paris Mint. Essais are akin to pattern coins produced to test the viability of new designs, compositions, and minting techniques by mints across the world, including the U.S. Mint.
Like pattern coins, essais are often extremely rare and always highly collectible. This particular coin has the catalog number Maz-1629, named for Jean Mazard (1900-1984), a French jurist and numismatist whose books on French coinage of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries coinage include a catalog of essais.
The gold essais of 1868 are extremely rare. A handful of the larger denominations (10- to 100-Franc) have crossed the block over the last 20 years, and two uniface gilt copper impressions of the 5 Francs’ reverse sold in the mid-2010s, but a full 1868 Five Franc gold essai has not crossed the block in recent memory.
Third-party grading census data underscores this issue’s rarity. Our example is the only Maz-1629 reported in PCGS’ Population Report, and NGC’s Census also reports a single example. Our example’s Specimen-62 grade reflects the discoloration on its reverse and numerous contact marks, but these issues are trivial for such a rarity. The term “Specimen” makes clear that the piece’s finish is clearly distinct from business strikes and Proofs.
The upcoming sale of this extremely rare essai likely marks the first auction offering of this specific essai in decades.
Auction Friday, April 17 at 10am
Exhibition April 11 - 13