Burgundy 1588 gros
This specimen was lot 1164 in Jean Elsen sale 143 (Brussels, December 2019), where it sold for €185 (about US$242 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCHE-COMTE, Philippe II (1556-1598), billon gros, 1588, Dole. D/ Ecu couronné. R/ Croix de Bourgogne séparant la date, sous une tour. Très Beau. (free county of Burgundy, Philip II, 1556-98, billon groat of 1588, Dole mint. Obverse: crowned arms; reverse: Burgundian cross divides the date, below, a tower. Very Fine.)"
Franche Comte was originally part of the Burgundian inheritance. When the native dynasty lapsed in 1477, the lands were partitioned between the king of France and the Hapsburgs. The duchy of Burgundy fell to France and the county of Burgundy (later called Franche Comte) to the Hapsburgs and then to the Spanish Hapsburgs. 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").
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: billon, this specimen 1,51 g.
Catalog reference: P.A. 5297 var.; Dole R18b; V.H. 349.
- 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, Vente Publique 143, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2019.
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