Napoleon I Bonaparte, 1806-A

KM 675.1; Friedberg 481, PCGS graded MS-62+

This and the following 20-franc piece mark the beginning of a shift away from French Revolutionary ideals on the coinage in 1806 and 1807. Here, Napoleon continues to be depicted bare headed, just as on his issues as First Consul, although he is named as Emperor. Likewise, the reverse proclaims the French Republic hard-won with the blood of the French Revolution, but now the date is rendered in the Arabic numerals of the Christian Era used throughout Europe, rather than in the years of the Revolutionary Era. This development presaged the greater changes that were to come later in 1807.

Paris. Head of Napoleon I left. Reverse: Denomination within wreath.

Ex Künker (10 March 2008), 7549