France 1597-Mor 1/4 ecu

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Jean Elsen sale 149, lot 1524

This specimen was lot 1524 in Jean Elsen sale 149 (Brussels, December 2021), where it sold for €110 (about US$149 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"FRANCE, Royaume, Henri IV (1589-1610), AR quart d'écu du Béarn, 1597, Morlaàs. Frappe au marteau. D/ Croix fleurdelisée. R/ Ecu couronné, parti de France et Navarre-Béarn, accosté de II-II. Très Beau. (kingdom of France, Henry IV, 1589-1610, silver quarter écu of Béarn, 1597, Morlaàs mint, struck by the hammer. Obverse: floriate cross; reverse: crowned arms of France, Navarre and Béarn divide the value. Very Fine.)"

This specimen was struck by the hammer at Morlaàs during the reign of Henry IV, founder of the Bourbon dynasty (1589-1793). This was the largest silver coin regularly struck in France prior to the introduction of milled coinage in the 1640's. It had a face value of fifteen sols tournois. The distinctive reverse was used to note that Béarn was a separate domain of the king, not subject to the rest of France.

Recorded mintage: 57,357 including a few 1/8 écu, a fairly common date.

Specification: 9.71 g, 0.917 fine silver, this specimen 9,43 g.

Catalog reference: Sb-4706, Dupl-1240; Ci. 1520; Laf. 1099.

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.
  • 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., Vente Publique 149: Monnaies, Médailles et Décorations, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2021.

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