FRANCE - CONVENTION - SOL AUX BALANCES 1793 METZ - RESTRIKE - NGC MS64 BN

National Convention (1792-1795), sol aux balances, 1793, Metz, restrike from the original dies.

Obverse: tablet of the law inscribed LES HOMMES SONT EGAUX DEVANT LA LOI, beneath a radiant eye, between a bunch of grapes and a sheaf of wheat, Dupré’s signature in script at the foot of the tablet. Legend REPUBLIQUE FRANÇOISE, L’AN II in exergue. Reverse: oak wreath enclosing the denomination 1. S, crossed by a pair of scales topped by a Phrygian cap. Legend LIBERTE EGALITE, without accents, date 1793 in exergue. Mint letter AA (Metz).

Sharp strike, with complete legends and tablet inscription. Light brown toning, a few dark spots, mainly on the reverse wreath. Mint State.

Note: engraved by Augustin Dupré, the sol aux balances was the first sol struck without the bust of Louis XVI. The tablet of the law, the scales and the Phrygian cap make it a true manifesto of revolutionary equality, carried in everyday coinage. This example is a later restrike made from the original dies of the Metz mint, recognisable in particular by the absence of accents on LIBERTE EGALITE.