Besancon 1638 teston
This specimen was lot 1838 in Jean Elsen sale 154 (Brussels, March 2023), where it sold for €280 (about US$363 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, BESANCON, Ville impériale, AR teston de 8 gros (quart de daldre), 1638. Au titre de Charles Quint. D/ B. l., dr. et cuir. de l'empereur à g. R/ Ecu de la ville, sous la date. Rare. Fines griffes. presque Très Beau. (France, free city of Besançon, silver teston of eight groats (quarter daalder) of 1639, struck in the name of Charles V. Obverse: laureate, draped and armored bust of the emperor to left, below, a rosette in a cartouche; reverse: the city arms below the date. about Very Fine.)"
Altho Franche Comte is today a region of France to the east of Burgundy, in the sixteenth century it was firmly part of the Holy Roman Empire and was ruled by the Spanish branch of the Hapsburgs in the person of Philip II. Long coveted by the French kings, the county finally fell to Louis XIV in the late 1670's and incorporated into the royal domain. Besançon, the capital, became the site of a French mint (mintmark "CC"). Roberts comments, "One of the oddest portrait series within the boundaries of modern France is that of Besancon, the principal town of the Franche-Comte. In 1534, the emperor Charles V granted the town...rights to issue coinage...on condition that every coin must bear the date of issue, the coat of arms, and the portrait of himself, Charles V. Thus, his image graces all issues, large and small, for 140 years, until the town was conquered by the forces of Louis XIV in 1674."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 7.87 g, silver, this specimen 7,76 g.
Catalog reference: KM 33 (unlisted date), B. 1288; P.A. 5414 var.; C.C.K. M11/1638.
- Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
- 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 154, Trouvaille de Labuissière, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2023.
Link to:
- Besancon 1624 teston = 1/4 thaler = 8 gros
- Besancon 1639 teston = 1/4 thaler = 8 gros
- 1639 demi-pistolet
- Coins and currency dated 1638