Arquata 1667-A luigino
This specimen was lot 1573 in Jean Elsen sale 150 (Brussels, March 2022), where it sold for €220 (about US$292 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIE, ARQUATA, Jules et César Spinola (1667-1694), AR luigino anonyme, 1667A. Imitation du douzième d'écu d'Anne-Marie d'Orléans, princesse de Dombes. D/ DE PROCVL PRAETVM EIVS B. dr. à d. R/ TRAHIT SVA QVEMQVE VOLVPTAS Ecu couronné à trois lis sous un lambel. Léger défaut de flan au revers. presque Superbe. (Italy, marquisate of Arquata, Julius and Caesar Spinola, 1667-94, silver luigino of 1667, imitation of a twelfth écu of about Anne-Marie d'Orléans, princesse de Dombes. Obverse: draped bust right; reverse: crowned arms under a motto. Minor planchet defect on the reverse, Extremely Fine.)"
Arquata is a commune in the Ligurian alps between Genoa and Savoy and was frequently contended between them. This is a fairly accurate imitation of a luigino from Dombes with the legends deliberately garbled to evade charges of counterfeiting. Other varieties are mentioned in the SCWC but not this one. A number of other petty states in Italy engaged in a similar practice, which ended when the premium for the coin in the Levant trade evaporated.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 2.29 g, 0.917 fine silver, this specimen 2,22 g.
Catalog reference: Cammarano 1; neither KM A2 or KM 2.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 150: Collection J.F.L. Blankenberg, Monnaies de l'Orient Latin, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2022.
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