This France Empire 1808-A Napoléon I 5 Francs was struck at the Paris Mint and is graded PCGS PR65. It will be offered by Stack’s Bowers Galleries in an auction being held in conjunction with the New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC) in January 2025. Courtesy of PCGS.
COIN OF THE ISSUE:
FRANCE EMPIRE 1808-A NAPOLÉON I 5 FRANCS FROM THE PARIS MINT, PCGS PR65
By Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez Napoléon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769, and eventually rose to become one of the most important figures of his time. Napoléon had already joined the French Royal Army as an officer during his teen years when the French 6
Revolution, which he supported, came to fruition in 1789. Rising through the ranks, Napoléon notched wins against royalist insurgents in Paris in 1795 and a year later defeated Austrians and Italians in the War of the First Coalition. Earning glory as a French hero, Napoléon gathered political currency with invasions of Egypt and Syria in 1798, a successful rematch against an Austrian-Italian front in 1800, and his sale of the Territory of Louisiana to the United States in 1803. Crowning himself as the Emperor of France in December 1804, Napoléon successfully led French troops into other skirmishes over the next decade, securing his nation’s dominance in Western Europe. Still, he was not invincible. Napoléon drew down his troops during an invasion of Russia in the winter of 1812, with Prussian and Austrian forces joining the Russians in the Battle of Leipzig. This was a battle that the once-mighty French ruler lost. Abdicating the throne in April 1814, Napoléon was exiled to Elba – an island in the Mediterranean. But that wasn’t the end for Napoléon, who returned to Paris with 1,000 men months later and regained the helm over France. However, his return to the throne was short-lived when a coalition of opponents that included the United Kingdom, Prussia, and the Netherlands overthrew Napoléon in the Battle of Waterloo. Living out the rest of his years in exile on the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, Napoléon died of PCGS MARKET REPORT JAN/FEB 2025