Bearn 1567-P teston
This specimen was lot 1647 in Jean Elsen sale 149 (Brussels, December 2021), where it sold for €150 (about US$203 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, BEARN, Jeanne d'Albret, veuve d'Antoine de Bourbon (1562-1572), AR teston, 1567, Pau. P et vaquette sous le buste. D/ B. à d. R/ Ecu couronné, entre deux I couronnés. Griffes. Très Beau. (France, principality of Béarn, Jeanne d'Albret, widow of Anthony of Bourbon, 1562-72, silver teston of 1567, pau mint, "P" and cow under the bust. Obverse: bust right; reverse: crowned arms between two crowned "I's". Scratches, Very Fine.)"
Jeanne d'Albret was the mother of the future Henry IV of France. In the sixteenth century, Béarn was still autonomous and struck its own coinage.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 9.59 g, .899 fine silver, this specimen 9,52 g.
Catalog reference: B. 594; Poey d'Avant 3441; D. 1305.
- Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 149: Monnaies, Médailles et Décorations, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2021.
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