Brittany (1341-64) gros au lion
This specimen was lot 1399 in Jean Elsen sale 155 (Brussels, June 2023), where it sold for €500 (about US$655 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, BRETAGNE, Duché, Charles de Blois (1341-1364), billon gros au lion. Imitation du gros compagnon de Jean III de Brabant. D/ Croix pattée coupant la légende intérieure: CHA-ROL-LVS- DVX. R/ + MONETA BRITAN' Lion rampant à g. dans une bordure de onze feuilles et un lion. Rare. Très Beau. (France, duchy of Brittany, Charles of Blois, 1341-64, billon groat of the lion. Imitation of the groat compagnon of John II of Brabant. Obverse: cross pattée dividing the interior legend; reverse: lion rampant left in a border of eleven leaves and a lion. Rare, Very Fine.)"
Wikipedia comments,
"Charles of Blois-Châtillon (1319-64), nicknamed "the Saint", was the legalist Duke of Brittany from 1341 until his death, via his marriage to Joan, Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Penthièvre, holding the title against the claims of John of Montfort. The cause of his possible canonization was the subject of a good deal of political maneuvering on the part of his cousin, Charles V of France, who endorsed it, and his rival, Montfort, who opposed it. The cause fell dormant after Pope Gregory XI left Avignon in 1376, but was revived in 1894. Charles of Blois was beatified in 1904."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 2,35 g.
Catalog reference: Roberts-6681, Jézéquel 159c; P.A. 492; D. 111.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 155, Collection Marc Bar et Distinctions de Jean-Baptiste Nothomb, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2023.
- Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
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