France (1389)-Angers ecu d'or Fr-291

Stack's Bowers 2020 NYINC sale, lot 22483

This specimen was lot 22483 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2020), where it sold for $900. The catalog description^[1] noted, "FRANCE. Ecu d'Or, ND (1380-1422). Angers Mint. Charles VI. NGC MS-62. A well centered gold ecu with full peripheral legends and full design details, endowed with a dark honey golden tone." This écu d'or à la couronne replaced the franc à cheval of the previous reign and was initially valued at 22 sols, 6 deniers tournois, which was raised to 30 sols in 1419 and 40 sols in 1420 then back to 22 sols, 6 deniers later that year. This is marked as a product of the Angers mint by the dot under "S" of "KAROLVS". The écu d'or would remain the primary French gold coin thru the reign of Louis XIII but would never remain stable either in weight or in value. The manipulations of Charles VI are recorded as follows:

1st emission (March 1385): 4.07 g, 1.000 fine gold;
2nd emission (February 1388): 3.99 g, 1.000 fine gold;
3rd emission (September 1389): same as the second;
4th emission (July 1394): 3.94 g, 1.000 fine gold;
5th emission (November 1411): 3.82 g, 1.000 fine gold;
6th emission (March 1419): 3.82 g, 0.958 fine gold;
7th emission (February 1420): 3.65 g, 0.958 fine gold;
8th emission (December 1420): 3.70 g, 1.000 fine gold.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 3.99 g, 1.000 fine gold, this specimen 3.91 g.

Catalog reference: Duplessy 369 B. Fr-291.

Source:

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]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The January 2020 NYINC Sale: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2019.

Link to:

France (1389)-Angers ecu d'or Fr-291

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