France 1594-T 1/4 ecu
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This quart d'écu de face was struck by the hammer at Nantes towards the end of the Wars of Religion in France. Sombart reports eleven examples in his survey[1], making this a common date. This coin was struck by the Catholic League in the name of their candidate for the throne, Charles X. The problem was that the putative Charles X was an ordained priest and a prisoner of the (formerly) Protestant Henry IV. This was the largest silver coin regularly struck prior to the introduction of milled coinage in the 1640's. It had a face value of fifteen sols tournois.
Recorded mintage: 292,014 including eighth écus.
Specification: 9.71 g, 0.917 fine silver.
Catalog reference: Duplessy 1222, Sb 4670 (11 ex.).
- 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.
- [1]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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