France (1542) ecu d'or Fr-362
This specimen was lot 20385 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Philadelphia, August 2018), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Ecu d'Or du Dauphine, ND (1542-47). Romans Mint. Francois I (1515-47). NGC MS-62. An EXTREMELY RARE écu d'or à la croisette du Dauphiné issued towards the end of the reign of Francois I. In 1540, a coinage reform superseded the old dots method with letters to indicate the mint. The reform apparently did not include this type, which has a dot under the 'R' of 'FRANCISCVS' to note the Romans mint. This example, superbly preserved, displays surfaces that are bold and lustrous, with virtually no doubling. Only the second example we've seen offered in recent years and thus a real prize for the advanced collector of early French gold." Duplessy notes that this coin had a face value of 45 sols tournois.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.43 g, .958 fine gold, this specimen 3.37 gms.
Catalog reference: Fr-362; Dupl-894; Ciani-1096; Laf-754.
- 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]Ponterio, Richard, Kyle Ponterio and Chris Chatigny, The August 2018 Philadelphia ANA Auction: World Coins and Selections from the El Dorado Collection of Colombian Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2018.
Link to: