France 1556-M teston

Goldberg sale 128, lot 1726

This specimen was lot 1726 in Goldberg sale 128 (Los Angeles, June 2022), where it sold for $360. The catalog description^[1] noted, "France. ½ Teston, 1556-M (Toulouse). Henry II, 1547-1559. Armored bust of Henry II right. Reverse: Crowned Shield of France flanked by two crowned Hs; mint letter at the bottom of the shield. The only example graded at PCGS. PCGS graded EF-40." Sombart^[2] reports nine known in his survey, making this a common date. The teston had a face value of 11 sols, 4 deniers.

Recorded mintage: 285,727^[2], mostly testons.

Specification: 9.59 g, .899 fine silver.

Catalog reference: Sb 4574, Dupl-984; Ciani-1290.

Source:

• Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
• Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
• ^[2]Sombart, Stéphan, Franciae IV: Catalogue des Monnaies Royales Françaises de François Ier à Henri IV (1540-1610), Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 1997.
• ^[1]Goldberg, Ira, Larry Goldberg, Stephen Harvey and Vera Liu, Goldberg Sale 128: the Pre-Long Beach Auction, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, 2022.

Links to:

• 1555-D demi-teston
• 1555-L demi-teston, Henri II
• 1556-D teston
• 1556-B henri d'or
• 1557-C demi-teston, Henri II
• 1557-M demi-teston, Henri II
• Coins and currency dated 1556
• return to French royal coinage (to 1793)