France 1605-L 1/8 ecu
This specimen was lot 74650 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $85. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. 1/8 Ecu, 1605-L. Bayonne Mint. Henry IV. PCGS VF-35. From the Richard August Collection." This eighth écu was struck by the hammer at at least a dozen mints starting in the time of Henry III (1580) and continuing into the reign of Louis XIV (1651). This denomination is much scarcer than the contemporary quart d'écu au marteau. Some mints had the king's name on the cross side (as here) and others had the king's name on the shield side. No 1605-L's are reported by Sombart but Bayonne is the most common mint of the type.
Recorded mintage: 796,194 including quarts d'écu.
Specification: 4.85 g, 0.833 fine silver, 24-26 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Sb 4688, Dupl-1225; Ciani-1527.
- 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.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, September 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, including Selections from the Richard Margolis Collection and Selections from the L.E. Bruun Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
Link to:
- 1603-T huitiême d'écu, croix feuillue de face
- 1605 huitième d'écu du Béarn, Morlaas mint
- 1605-I demi-franc
- 1605-C quart d'écu
- 1605-9 quart d'écu
- 1605 quart d'écu du Béarn, Morlaàs mint
- 1607 huitième d'écu du Béarn, Morlaas mint
- 1610-L huitième d'écu
- Coins and currency dated 1605
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)