Brittany (1423-36) blanc
The first specimen was lot 1419 in Jean Elsen sale 155 (Brussels, June 2023), where it sold for €80 (about US$105 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, BRETAGNE, Duché, Jean V (1399-1442), AR blanc, vers 1423-1436, Redon (?). D/ Quatre mouchetures dans un polylobe. Moucheture en fin de légende. R/ Croix pattée. Eclat du flan sur la tranche. Très Beau. (France, duchy of Brittany, John V, 1399-1442, silver blanc of circa 1423-36, perhaps Redon mint. Obverse: four ermines in a hexalobe and an ermine at the end of the legend; reverse: cross pattée. Planchet crack on the edge, Very Fine.)"
The second specimen was lot 1421 in Jean Elsen sale 155 (Brussels, June 2023), where it sold for €240 (about US$315 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, BRETAGNE, Duché, Jean V (1399-1442), billon blanc, vers 1423-1436, Vannes. D/ Quatre mouchetures dans un polylobe. :V: en fin de légende. R/ Croix pattée. Très Beau à Superbe. (France, duchy of Brittany, John V, 1399-1442, silver blanc of circa 1423-36, Vannes mint. Obverse: four ermines in a polylobe and a "V" at the end of the legend; reverse: cross pattée. Very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"
Wikipedia comments,
"John V, (1389-1442) bynamed John the Wise, was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort from 1399 to his death. His rule coincided with the height of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. John's reversals in that conflict, as well as in other internal struggles in France, served to strengthen his duchy and to maintain its independence."
Roberts lists this type for the Dinan mint (mintmark "D"), not the Vannes mint.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, the first specimen 2,93 g, the second specimen 2,56 g.
Catalog reference: the first specimen Jézéquel 328d; P.A. 1158; D. -. the second specimen Roberts-6152 (Dinan mint), Jézéquel 334f; D. 285.
- [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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