PMG's Featured Note of the Month: France 10 Francs

Posted on 7/23/2024

This note dates from the time that the Olympics were last held in Paris.



France, Banque de France 1922-26 10 Francs graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated Click images to enlarge.

Country: France

Catalog Number: 73c

Date: 1922-26

Denomination: 10 Francs

Varieties: The PMG Population Report also records varieties of 73a, 73b, 73d and 73e (which vary in dates), as well as Front and Back Proofs.

What makes it special? This note shows what paper money looked like in France when the Olympic Games were last held in Paris, a century ago. As the Olympics return to the City of Light, France has been using the euro for more than 20 years, but currencies called the franc still live on in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and much of Central and West Africa.

Did you know? Several banknotes over the years have been issued to celebrate the Olympics; you can read more about them in this month's Collection Inspiration column.

Total graded by PMG: As of early July 2024, the PMG Population Report includes 25 examples of Pick# 73c, as well as 40 for Pick# 73a, 4 for Pick# 73b, 56 for Pick# 73d and 19 for Pick# 73e. The Pop Report also records a single Front and Back Proof.

PMG median grade: PMG 55 About Uncirculated for Pick# 73c and PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated for all issued notes with this catalog number.

PMG highest graded: The PMG Population Report lists four examples of Pick# 73c in PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated. Two examples of Pick# 73a and one example of Pick# 73d are graded PMG 67 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ.

Sales highlights: An example of Pick# 73c graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated realized €94.4 (about $100) in a cgb.fr sale in February 2020. An example of Pick# 73c was included in a Heritage Auctions lot of three vintage French notes graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated that realized $204 in August 2022.

PMG Registry: This note is part of two French categories in the PMG Registry, including the most popular: 1953-Date, Issued Notes, Complete, Including Varieties, where the top set, Collectoroldthings' Third Empire Banque De France, has the Pick# 73a, 73d and 73e varieties in PMG 30 Very Fine, PMG 30 Very Fine and PMG 55 About Uncirculated, respectively. It is also part of 1906-1997 Issue, P68-P160, which is led by Collectoroldthings' France Complete Type Set, which uses the same Pick# 73a note as their other set.

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PMG's Featured Note of the Month: France 10 Francs

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