France (1498) ecu d'or Fr-323
This specimen was lot 3025 in Künker sale 294 (Osnabrück, Germany, July 2017), where it sold for €650 (about US$876 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANKREICH, KÖNIGREICH, Louis XII, 1498-1514. Ecu d'or au soleil o. J. (1498), Lyon. GOLD. Winz. Schrötlingsfehler, sehr schön-vorzüglich. (kingdom of France, Louis XII, 1498-1514, undated écu d'or au soleil, Lyon mint. Minor marks, very fine to extremely fine.)"
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 Lyon mint (later mintmark "D") in 1498. It had a face value of 36 sols, 3 deniers tournois. We don't know if it traded equal to a ducat but it was likely pretty close.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.49 g, .963 fine gold; this specimen 3.35 g.
Catalog reference: Duplessy 647; Fr-323.
- 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]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Katalog 294: Goldprägungen | Deutsche Münzen ab 1871 | Russische Münzen und Medaillen, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2017.
Link to:
- France (1494)-P ecu d'or Fr-318
- (1498-1515) denier tournois
- (1498) blanc de Bretagne
- (1498) grand blanc à la couronne
- (1498-1515) douzain au porc-épic de Bretagne
- (1498-1515) blanc de Provence
- (1498) demi-écu d'or au soleil, Toulouse mint
- (1498-1515) écu d'or au soleil de Bretagne, Rennes mint
- (1498-1507)-T écu d'or au soleil de Provence
- (1498-1507) écu d'or au soleil du Dauphiné
- (1507-15) écu d'or au porc-épic
- Coins and currency dated 1498
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)