France 1620-Mor M 1/4 ecu
This specimen was lot 56162 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $168. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Navarre-Bearn. 1/4 Ecu, 1620-M. Morlaas Mint. Louis XIII. PCGS EF-45. Variety with crowned shield of France, Navarre, and Bearn on reverse." 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. The product of the Pau mint was struck in a screw press while the Morlaàs issue was hammered.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 9.71 g, 0.917 fine silver, 26-31 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 110, Dr/2 № 96, KM-49.2; Gad-30.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2024 NYINC Auction, featuring the Emilio M Ortiz Collection and a Symphony of Russian Rarities, the Rothschild-Piatigorsky Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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