France (1290) petit royal d'or Fr-255
This specimen was lot 32149 in Heritage sale 3081 (New York, January 2020), where it sold for $8,175. The catalog description[1] noted, "France: Philippe IV, the Fair (1285-1314) gold Petit Royal d'Or (Florin d'Or) ND (August 1290) XF40 NGC. Scattered with contact marks on a slightly wavy flan, this example has seen some handling, but its devices and legends retain near-full detail and the surfaces are clearly unaltered. Its imagery puts one in mind of the legendary, though ultimately short-lived gold 'Penny' of 20 Pence issued by Henry III of England, the contemporary to this type. Unlike Henry's failed experiment, however, this French 'Florin' served as the first French gold coin to reach widespread circulation due to its high quality and parity with the Florentine Florin--an ironic feat for the monarch known throughout history as the "faux-monnayeur" for frequently debasing the kingdom's coinage. Extremely rare and almost never seen at auction, one of the hardest pieces of French medieval gold to find, produced before the Franco-Flemish War necessitated debasement of the coinage." Duplessy notes that this rare coin had a face value of ten sols tournois. A century later, in the reign of Charles VII, a coin of similar size, the écu d'or, was worth 25 sols tournois.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.54 g, 1.000 fine gold, this specimen 3.50 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-255, Ciani-193, Dupl-207.
- Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome I, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
- 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]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3081, featuring the Caranett Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2019.
Link to: