Bearn 1571 teston
This specimen was lot 1127 in Jean Elsen price list 259 (Brussels, January-March 2012), where it was offered at € 150. The catalog noted,
"FRANCE, BEARN, Jeanne d'Albret, veuve d'Antoine de Bourbon (1562-1572), AR teston, 1571, Pau. Droit : B. drapé à droite, ne coupant pas la légende. En dessous, vaquette et DB. Revers : Ecu couronné, entre deux I couronnés. Rare. Frappe faible. La date regravée dans le coin, sur la couronne. Beau à Très Beau (France--kingdom of Béarn, Jeanne d'Albret, widow of Antoine of Bourbon (1562-72), silver teston of 1571, Pau mint. Obverse: draped bust to right, continuous legend, cow mintmark below. Reverse: crowned arms between two crowned I's. Rare, weak strike, reengraved date, F - VF)"
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: silver, 9,27 g (this specimen).
Catalog reference: B., 596 var; P.A., 3452 var; D., 1307 var.
- 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 108, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2011.
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