1830–1848 France Silver 5 Francs Louis Philippe F

From Boston’s Union Oyster House to the King of France

Incredible but true: 1832 the king of France was... American? Well, sort of. At age 19, Louis Philippe left France in exile and didn’t return for 21 years. During that exile, he spent four years in the United States, making friends with such Founding Fathers as Alexander Hamilton and George Washington. He lived above the oldest restaurant in America, the Union Oyster House in Boston, and taught French to young ladies. He eventually returned to France and claimed the throne.

Now you can secure a memento of America’s French King with this 5 Francs coin struck in nearly three-quarters of an ounce of highly pure 90% fine silver. Minted from 1830 to 1848, each coin features a portrait of Philippe wearing a crown of laurel leaves reminiscent of coins struck by Napoleon. Each coin available here also comes in nice Fine (F) condition with sharp and even wear. Date will vary.

Louis Philippe had an extremely tumultuous life until his death in 1850 at the age of 76. Born in 1773, Louis Philippe could not help but be caught up in the turmoil of the French Revolution. His father, Louis Philippe II Duke of Orléans, not only embraced the Revolution he even voted for the death of King Louis XVI. The younger Philippe emerged as an effective military leader, rising to the rank of general in the French army. But when his father was caught up in the Reign of Terror and guillotined in 1793, Louis Philippe high-tailed it out of France. He was proclaimed “King of the French” in 1830 after his cousin Charles X was forced to abdicate. Philippe’s regime was known as the “July Monarchy,” a liberal constitutional monarchy dominated by wealthy bourgeoisie. Philippe was forced to abdicate after crop failures and price increases turned the rural poor into defiant citizens and resulted in the French Revolution of 1848.

This type of coin is rarely found in the United States and we were only able to acquire our small cache through our European connections. They have travelled thousands of miles to make it to America — and now you can make one of these coins part of your collection today!