Besancon 1578 1/2 pistole Fr-75
This specimen was lot 1318 in Jean Elsen sale 161 (Brussels, March 2025), where it sold for €600 (about US$781 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, BESANÇON, Ville impériale, AV demi-pistole d'or, 1578. D/ + CAROLVS: [QTVS] IMPERATOR (?) Tête laurée de Charles Quint à d. R/ MONE: AVREA: CIVI: B[ISV]NTINE: 1578 Aigle impériale éployée et couronnée, avec l'écu de la ville sur la poitrine. Extrêmement rare. Trace de soudure au revers. Rogné. Exemplaire daté 1578 apparemment inédit, avec le coin de droit de l'émission de 1566 au buste large, retravaillé au niveau de la légende pour remplacer le "V" par "QVINTVS", sans arriver à le faire rentrer. (France, city of Besançon, gold half pistole of 1578. Obverse: laureate bust of Charles V right; reverse: crowned imperial eagle with the city arms on its breast. Extremely rare, trace of solder on the reverse, clipped, this date apparently unpublished, using the obverse die from 1566, reengraved to restore the 'V' in 'QVINTVS'. Very Fine/Fine.)"
A pistole was worth five thalers. Numista lists single, double and quadruple pistoles but not this half pistole. Friedberg lists this denomination for 1566-1662 with many interruptions. The mint right that Charles V granted to the town required that his portrait appear on all her coins; accordingly, it remained thereon for generations after his death.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.22 g, gold, 23 mm diameter, this specimen 2,89 g.
Catalog reference: C.C.K. M3/1578 (unlisted date); Fr-75.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 161, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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