France 1572-B ecu d'or
This specimen was lot 1328 in Jean Elsen sale 127 (Brussels, December 2015), where it sold for €340 (about US$437 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, Royaume, Charles IX (1560-1574), AV écu d'or au soleil, 1572B, Rouen. D/ Ecu de France couronné, sous un soleil. R/ Croix fleurdelisée. Nettoyé. Traces de monture. Très Beau. (kingdom of France, Charles IX, 1560-74, gold écu d'or of the sunburst of 1572, Rouen mint. Obverse: crowned arms of France below a sunburst; reverse: floriate cross. Cleaned, trace of mounting, very fine.)"
This coin is called the écu d'or au soleil in Duplessy[2] with a face value of fifty sols tournois and is noted with many variations in obverse and reverse legends. This is a scarce date, with four reported in Sombart's survey[3].
Recorded mintage: 17,766[3].
Specification: 3.37 g, .958 fine gold.
Catalog reference: Sb 4904, Fr-378, Duplessy-1057, Ci. 1343; Laf. 890.
- [2]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]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 127, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2015.
- [3]Sombart, Stéphan, Franciae IV: Catalogue des Monnaies Royales Françaises de François Ier à Henri IV (1540-1610), Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 1997.
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