CNG 93, Lot: 1521. Estimate $500. Sold for $420. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

FRANCE, Royal (Restored). Henri V. Prétendant et comte de Chambord, 1820-1883. AR 5 Francs (38mm, 24.63 g, 6h). Dated 1831. HENRI V ROI DE FRANCE, Bust left / Crowned coat-of-arms; 5 F flanking; all within wreath; below, 1831 flanked by lis. VG 651; Mazard 905; KM –. EF, toned.

When Henri was born seven months after the murder of his father, the French monarchists heralded it as a miracle (even coining Henri “the miracle child”). Following the abdication of his grandfather Charles X and shortly afterward the Dauphin Louis Antoine, the young Henri was to succeed to the throne. Yet Louis-Philippe ignored this plan and, seven days later, was himself chosen by the National Assembly. The Comte left France in exile. In the following years, he maintained contact with his Legitimist supporters. Henri would come close to the throne again following the disaster at Sedan in 1870. However, this plan was stymied by Henri’s obstinate insistence that the nation abandon the Tricolour. The Third Republic remained in power and Henri died in exile.