France (1494)-Limoges ecu d'or Fr-318
This specimen was lot 42169 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2024), where it sold for $2,880. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Ecu d'Or, ND (1483-98). Limoges Mint. Charles VIII. NGC MS-63. Secret mint pellet located under 10th letter of legends. Obverse: Crowned coat-of-arms; sunburst above; Reverse: Cross potent over cross fleuree, with polylobe at center. Quite well centered and struck, with a Choice level of preservation and some evidence of ghosting upon the obverse." This écu d'or au soleil was issued for Charles VIII from numerous mints. It is the second emission of July 1494. It should show a fleur-de-lys at the start of the legends but instead has a coronet. 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. 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; this specimen 3.45 g.
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, August 2024 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Emilio M. Ortiz Collection, The Richard Margolis Collection and The Rutherford Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
Link to:
- (1483)-B écu d'or au soleil, Bourges mint
- (1483) écu d'or au soleil, Angers mint
- (1483) écu d'or au soleil, Tournai mint
- (1494) demi-écu d'or au soleil
- (1494) écu d'or au soleil, Bayonne mint
- (1483-98) écu d'or au soleil du Dauphiné
- (1494)-P écu d'or au soleil, Perpignan mint
- Coins and currency dated 1494
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)