Burgundy 1623 1/2 patagon
This specimen was lot 747 in Jean Elsen sale 161 (Brussels, March 2025), where it sold for €700 (about US$912 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCHE-COMTÉ, Philippe IV (1621-1665), AR demi-patagon, 1623. Hybride avec droit de Dole et revers de Tournai. Extrêmement rare. (free county of Burgundy, Philip IV, 1621-65, silver half patagon of 1623, Dole mint. Mule with a Dole obverse and a Tournai Reverse. Extremely rare, Fine - Very Fine.)"
This type is recorded for 1625-27, 1634-36 and 1638 with star and rosette mintmarks (rosette shown here). Similar demi-patagons were struck in Artois, Tournai, Flanders and Brabant. 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: 14.05 g, 0.875 fine silver, this specimen is 13,35 g.
Catalog reference: KM 14, G.H. -; Delm. -; Hoc -; Dole R31 (4 exemplaires répertoriés); VH 646 (note).
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- 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 161, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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