France 1615-Mor M 1/4 ecu
The first specimen was lot 3325 in Stephen Album sale 38 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2020), where it sold for $77.35. The catalog description[1] noted, "BÉARN: Louis XIII, 1610-1643, AR ¼ écu de béarn, Morlaàs, 1615-M, Fine to VF." The second specimen was lot 1526 in Jean Elsen sale 149 (Brussels, December 2021), where it sold for €70 (about US$95 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[2] noted,
"FRANCE, Royaume, Louis XIII (1610-1643), AR quart d'écu du Béarn, 1615, Morlaàs. Frappe au marteau. D/ Croix fleurdelisée. R/ Ecu couronné, parti France et Navarre-Béarn, accosté de II-II. Très Beau. (kingdom of France, Louis XIII, silver quarter écu of Béarn of 1615, Morlaàs mint, struck by the hammer. Obverse: floriate cross; reverse: crowned arms of France, Navarre and Béarn divide the value. Very Fine.)"
This type was struck at Morlaàs and Pau 1610-43; this is a common date for the type. The small "M" near "GRATIA" is more a mintmaster's initial than a mintmark as it also appears on issues of St. Palais and Pau. Special coinage would be struck for Béarn until the end of the ancien régime.
Specification: 9.71 g, 0.917 fine silver, the first specimen 9.44 g, the second specimen 9,36 g.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 110, Dr/2 № 96, Gad-30, Duplessy-1338.
- Droulers, Frédéric, Répertoire General des Monnaies de Louis XIII à Louis XVI (1610-1792), 4e édition. Paris: AFPN, 2009.
- 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.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Royales Françaises, 1610-1792, 5me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2018.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 38, featuring the Dabestani Collection of Persian Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2020.
- [2]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 149: Monnaies, Médailles et Décorations, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2021.
Links to:
- 1612 quart d'écu du Béarn, Morlaàs mint
- 1615-X denier tournois
- 1615-A double tournois
- 1615-X double tournois
- 1615-C demi-franc
- 1615-L quart d'écu
- 1615-B écu d'or au soleil
- 1615-T écu d'or au soleil
- 1616 quart d'écu de Navarre, St-Palais mint
- 1620 quart d'écu du Béarn, Morlaàs mint
- Coins and currency dated 1615
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)