France (1450) 1/2 ecu d'or Fr-308
This specimen was lot 99088 in Heritage sale 61253 (Dallas, January 2022), where it sold for $2,280. The catalog description[1] noted,
"France: Charles VII (1422-1461) gold 1/2 Ecu d'Or a la couronne ND (from 1450) MS62 NGC, Paris mint (pellet below 18th letter). (crown with lozenge) KAROLVS • DЄI • GRΛ • FRΛИCORVm • RЄX (lozenge stops), crowned royal shield / (crown with lozenge) XPC • VINCIT • RЄHΛT • ЄT • ImPЄRΛT • (lozenge stops), cross feuillue with quadrilobe at center. Of far greater scarcity than the full Ecu d'Or of this reign, that this small gold issue finds itself on the cusp of Choice Mint State is no mean feat. Frequently heavily circulated, the offering appears almost satin in the protected regions of the design."
This is from the sixth emission of the type, each slightly debased from the prior issue. The fourth emission of 1447 was 0.989 fine gold. This coin was issued before the modern system of mintmarks was introduced by Francis I in 1540. Prior to that date, mints used various secret marks to identify and date their product. This otherwise undated and unmintmarked coin is thereby noted as being produced by the Paris mint (later mintmark "A") as part of the fourth emission of May 1447. Duplessy notes this coin originally had a face value of 12 sols and d deniers tournois, which was raised to 13 sols and 9 deniers tournois in 1447.
Recorded mintage: unknown but scarce.
Specification: 1.73 g, 0.963 fine gold; this specimen 1.72 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-308, Ciani-Unl., Dupl-513E.
- 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]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, The Brittany Collection of French Coins Showcase Auction #61253, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.
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