France 1587-C 1/4 ecu

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Jean Elsen list 269, lot 894
France JElsen 269-894r.jpg
from the Mountain Groan Collection
France 1587C quart ecu rev DSLR.jpg

The first specimen was lot 894 in Jean Elsen list 269 (Brussels, July-August 2014), where it was offered for €150 (about US$204). The catalog description[1] noted,

"FRANCE, Royaume, Henri III (1574-1589), AR quart d'écu, 1587 C, Saint-Lô. Droit: Croix fleurdelisée. Revers: Ecu de France couronné, entre II-II. Très Beau à Superbe (kingdom of France, Henry III (1574-89), quarter écu of 1587, Saint-Lô mint. Obverse: floriate cross; reverse: crowned arms of France divide 'II-II', Very fine to extremely fine.)"

This specimen was struck by the hammer at Saint-Lô during the reign of Henry III, last of the Valois dynasty. After production of the franc d'argent was suspended in 1586, this was the largest silver coin regularly struck in France prior to the introduction of milled coinage in the 1640's. The Saint-Lô mint closed permanently in 1656. Sombart reports seven examples in his survey[2], making this a fairly common date. Some mints put the king's titles on the shield side but most, including Saint-Lô, put the king's titles on the cross side.

Recorded mintage: 198,223, including a few huitiemes d'écu.

Specification: 9.71 g, 0.917 fine silver, the first specimen 9,50 g.

Catalog reference: Dupl-1133; Ci., 1438; Laf., 973, Sb 4662.

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]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Liste 269: Juillet-Septembre 2014, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2014.

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