Artois 1592 ecu Dav-8652
This specimen was lot 632 in Jean Elsen sale 141 (Brussels, June 2019), where it sold for €320 (about US$424 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ARTOIS, Comté, Philippe II (1555-1598), AR écu Philippe, 1592, Arras. D/ B. cuir. à d. R/ Ecu couronné sur une croix de Bourgogne, entre deux briquets, portant le bijou de la Toison d'or. Rare Rogné. Fêlure du flan. presque Très Beau. (county of Artois, Philip II, 1555-98, silver écu Philippe of 1592, Arras mint. Obverse: armored bust right; reverse: crowned arms over a Burgundian cross between two jewels of the Golden Fleece. Rare, clipped, flan defect, about Very Fine.)"
Ecus were issued in the Spanish Netherlands and associated states (including the bishopric of Liège and Franche Comte) during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, where they competed with French écus, German talers and Dutch daalders and patagons. A very similar coin was struck for Tournai. The series is plagued by bad planchets and poor strikes, reducing their appeal to collectors. Artois was conquered and annexed to France soon after this coin was issued.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 29,14 g.
Catalog reference: G.H. 210-9; Dewismes 231; Delm-38; V.H. 363, Dav-8652.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1484-1600, Frankfurt: Numismatischer Verlag, 1977.
- van Gelder, H. Enno, and Marcel Hoc, Les Monnaies des pays-Bas Bourguignons et Espagnols, 1434-1713, Amsterdam, J. Schulman, 1960, with supplement of 1964.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 141, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2019.
Links to: