Brabant 1481 briquet
This specimen was lot 1137 in Jean Elsen sale 150 (Brussels, March 2022), where it sold for €400 (about US$530 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT, Duché, Marie de Bourgogne (1477-1482), AR briquet, 1481, Anvers. Main dans le champ. D/ Lion assis à g., ten. l'écu de Bourgogne sous une main. R/ Croix fleuronnée. Très rare. Très Beau. (duchy of Brabant, Mary of Burgundy, 1477-82, silver briquet of 1481, Antwerp mint, hand in the field. Obverse: a lion supports the arms of Burgundy; reverse: floriate cross. Very rare, Very Fine.)"
The Antwerp mint, which operated until the 1750's, used a hand as its mintmark. Marie's marriage to Maximilian of Hapsburg brought Hapsburg rule to the Low Countries. This is one of the first coins to bear dates in Arabic numerals.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 2,96 g.
Catalog reference: G.H. 40-1c; W. 521; V.H. 56.
- Levinson, Robert, The Early Dated Coins of Europe, 1234-1500: An Illustrated Catalogue and Guide to dated medieval coinage. Clifton, NJ: Coin & Currency Institute, 2007.
- Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
- 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 150: Collection J.F.L. Blankenberg, Monnaies de l'Orient Latin, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2022.
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