France 1594-A ecu d'or
This specimen was lot 22085 in Heritage sale 61352 (Dallas, December 2023), where it sold for $1,560. The catalog description[1] noted, "France: Charles X gold Ecu d'Or 1594-A MS61 NGC, Paris mint. A beautiful 16th century Paris mint gold type, and this Mint State example is much nicer than most." This coin is called the écu d'or au soleil in Duplessy with a face value of fifty sols tournois and is noted with many variations in obverse and reverse legends. This type was the standard gold coin of France prior to the introduction of the milled louis d'or in 1641. This type was not struck for Henry IV but his rival Charles X, the pretender put up by the Catholic League in opposition to Henry IV, who had converted from Protestantism. This Cardinal never ruled France as he was a prisoner of Henry IV. This is a scarce date, with three reported in Sombart's survey[2].
Recorded mintage: 5,000 including a few demi-écus.
Specification: 3.37 g, .958 fine gold, plain edge.
Catalog reference: Sb 4940, KM 11.1, Fr-389.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- 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.
- [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]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, 2023 December 10 Spotlight: France World Coins Showcase Auction #61352, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auctions, 2023.
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