France 1564-L teston
This specimen was lot 1761 in Jean Elsen sale 117 (Brussels, June 2013), where it sold for €100 (about US$158 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, Royaume, Charles IX (1560-1574), AR teston, 1564 L, Bayonne. 3e type. Droit: B. l. et cuirassé à gauche. Revers: Ecu couronné, entre deux K couronnés. Eclat du flan. Très Beau. (kingdom of France, Charles IX (1560-74), silver teston of 1564, Bayonne mint, third type. Obverse: laureate and armored bust to left; reverse: crowned arms between two crowned 'K's'. Rim bump, very fine.)"
This teston is listed in Duplessy for the Bayonne mint 1562-74, which used crowned "K's" instead of "C's". Sombart reports eleven known of this date, making it fairly common.
Recorded mintage: 122,604 including a few demi-testons.
Specification: 9.59 g, .899 fine silver, this specimen 9.32 g.
Catalog reference: Dupl-1069; Ci-1359; Laf-899, Sb-4610.
- 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.
- Sombart, Stéphan, Franciae IV: Catalogue des Monnaies Royales Françaises de François Ier à Henri IV (1540-1610), Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 1997.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, Vente Publique 117: Collection Jean-Jacques Symoens, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses fils, S.A., 2013.
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