Watch List notes:

FRENCH COCHIN CHINA. Piastre Essai, 1879-A. PCGS SP-63+ Secure Holder.
KM-E12; Gad-8; Lec-28. EXTREMELY RARE. Struck in silver. French Cochin China was a major portion of the French colonial holdings in Southeast Asia. Along with Tonkin and Annam, French Cochin China (located at the southern tip of modern-day Vietnam and including the Mekong Delta) would later be amalgamated into the greater territory of French Indo-China.

Three Paris Mint Chief-Engravers (all from the same family) collaboratively designed this iconic silver crown. First engraved by Albert Barre until his sudden death in 1878, then finished by his brother Auguste Barre. The obverse design bears great similarity to the Great Seal of France as designed by their father Jean-Jacques Barre, with notable changes to reinforce its association with colonial affairs. The reasoning for basing the design on the Great Seal of France was to demonstrate French sovereignty over the region. Liberty reclines facing left, with her head facing, adorned with a laurel crown with seven arches. She holds a fasces (seen as a symbol of collective power) and resting atop a ship's tiller. Behind the tiller appears a marine anchor, symbolizing the administration of Indo-China by the French ministry of the "Marine and Colonies". Rice stalks appear to the left of Liberty, replacing the symbol of western agriculture, wheat. In exergue, the engraver's name (BARRE) and the date of 1879 appear. The reverse design features the denomination at the center of the design: "PIASTRE DE COMMERCE" surrounded by a wreath of laurel (glory) and oak (longevity) leaves. The mintmark of Paris ("A") appears below the central inscription flanked by two engraver's marks. Beautiful steel gray toning with multi-color hues surrounding the devices, especially the obverse. The second finest certified example, and a truly exquisite rarity worthy of inclusion into the most sophisticated of collections.

PCGS SP-63+ Secure Holder.

Estimate: $60000.00- $80000.00