France (1483)-B ecu d'or Fr-318
This specimen was lot 73308 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, November 2023), where it sold for $960. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Ecu d'Or, ND (1483-98). Bourges Mint. Charles VIII. PCGS AU-55. Exhibiting full legends and pale rose toning highlights that compliment the surfaces." This écu d'or au soleil was issued for Charles VIII from numerous mints. Most of the mints placed a quadrilobe at the center of the cross but Perpignan used a "P". The Bourges mint placed a "B" in the legend on both sides. Two types exist; the first emission lacked the "REX" at the end of the reverse legend. Duplessy notes that the face value was 36 sols, 3 deniers tournois. In 1540, the use of letters as mintmarks was regularized and the "secret dots" were abandoned.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.49 g, 0.963 fine gold.
Catalog reference: Fr-318; Dupl-575A.
- Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 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, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, November 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancient & World Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
Link to:
- (1483) écu d'or au soleil, Angers mint
- (1483) écu d'or au soleil, Tournai mint
- (1483-94) demi-écu d'or au soleil
- (1483-98) écu d'or au soleil du Dauphiné
- (1494) ''écu d'or au soleil, Limoges mint
- (1494)-P écu d'or au soleil, Perpignan mint
- Coins and currency dated 1483
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)