319, Lot: 666. Estimate $100. Sold for $85. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

FRANCE, Royal. Louis XVI. 1774–1793. Æ 2 Sols (33mm, 24.60 g, 6h). Paris mint. Dated L’An 4 and 1792 A. Bust left / Pileus and fasces over wreath. KM 603.1. VF.

In 1792, the early reverses of the French army in the war with Austria and Prussia and the Duke of Brunswick’s threat to destroy Paris if the royal family were harmed infuriated the Parisian sans-culottes. The king and his family were imprisoned on 10 August in the Temple and, in September, as the Prussians were defeated at Valmy, the Convention declared a Republic. Incriminating evidence against Louis was later found, and he was tried and found guilty by a unanimous vote. He was guillotined on 21 January 1793. Although the king's portrait is known on issues dated 1793, his rule ended with his imprisonment in 1792.