France (1461-74)-P ecu d'or Fr-312
This specimen was lot 312 in Sincona sale 46 (Zürich, May 2018), where it sold for 550 CHF (about US$660 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, Kingdom, Louis XI. 1461-1483. Ecu dor à la couronne o. J. (31.12.1461), Perpignan. Mit vierblättrigen Rosetten am Anfang und in der Umschrift als Trennungszeichen. Sehr schön. Knapper Schrötling. (kingdom of France, Louis XI, 1461-83, undated gold écu of the crown, emission of December 1461, Perpignan mint. With four-petalled rosettes at the beginning and in the legend. Very fine, Small flan.)"
Most mints producing this type used a dot under one of the obverse letters to mark their product but the Perpignan mint placed a "P" in the center of the reverse. Duplessy notes that this issue had a face value of 27 sols, 6 deniers tournois. The second emission of 1474 (Dupl-539A) had the weight reduced to 3.40 g and the value raised to 30 sols, 6 deniers.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.44 g, .963 fine gold, this specimen 3.39 g.
Catalog reference: Duplessy 539. Fr-312.
- 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]Richter, Jürg, Auction 46, Gold Coins and Medals, Zürich: Sincona AG, 2018.
Link to:
- (1461) denier tournois
- (1461-78) hardi, Bordeaux mint
- (1461) petit blanc à la couronne
- (1461) gros du Roi, Paris mint
- (1461) gros de Roi, Lyon mint
- (1461-74)-B blanc à la couronne, Bourges mint
- (1461-74) écu à la couronne, Angers mint
- (1461-74) écu à la couronne, Rouen mint
- (1475) écu d'or au soleil, St.-Lô mint
- Coins and currency dated 1461
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)