Flanders (1348-57) chaise d'or Fr-152
This specimen was lot 467 in Jean Elsen sale 137 (Brussels, June 2018), where it sold for €950 (about US$1,322 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"VLAANDEREN, Graafschap, Lodewijk van Male (1346-1384), AV gouden schild met de adelaar (écu à l'aigle), 1348-1357, Brugge, Gent en Mechelen. Vz/ De gezeten graaf, gekroond met rozen, met in de rechterhand een opgeheven zwaard en de linkerhand rustend op een schild met een tweekoppige adelaar. Kz/ Gebloemd kruis in een vierpas. Vier klaverbladen buiten de inspringende hoeken. Zeer Fraai. (county of Flanders, Louis de Male, 1346-84, golden shield of the eagle, issued 1348-57 from Bruges, Ghent and Mechelen. Obverse: the count, crowned with roses, sits with a raised sword in the right hand and the left hand resting on a shield with a two-headed eagle. Reverse: Floriate cross in a quatrefoil. Four clovers outside the recessed corners. Very fine.)"
Louis II de Male was count of Flanders when that province was one of the richest regions of Europe. Nominally part of France, Louis refused to pay homage to either the king of France or the king of England, steering a neutral course during the Hundred Years War. It was then that this imitation of a French chaise d'or was struck. A half chaise d'or and quarter chaise d'or also exist. Later, he married his daughter to Philip, duke of Burgundy, uniting the two houses against the authority of the king of France.
Reported Mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold, this specimen 4,26 g.
Catalog reference: Gaill. 207; Delm-454; Elsen 22; Martiny, Gent, 34; Fr-152.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 137, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2018.
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