France 1640-A 10 louis d'or

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Heritage sale 3096, lot 30162
H3096-30162r.jpg

This specimen was lot 30162 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $456,000. The catalog description[1] noted,

"The Famed 10 Louis d'Or - A Royal Gambling Piece and the Largest Denomination Struck in France. Louis XIII gold Early Restrike 10 Louis d'Or 1640-A MS61 NGC, Paris mint. An impressive coin and a true testament to the opulence of mid-17th century France. The largest denomination ever produced in the kingdom, specimens such as this were hardly intended for common circulation, but rather would have been used as royal gambling pieces, meant to signify one's winnings and the ability to push even more across the table. While the question of restrikes has long been a subject of contention within this series, it seems that, based on the discussion concerning the Lawrence Adams specimen that we resold in January 2018 (Auction #3061, Lot 32199), this might be related to the differing purities of the representatives. In regards to that specific example, Sylvia Hurter suggested that it had been produced two centuries later during the reign of Napoleon III. The Standard Catalog of World Coins notes that such restrikes were produced around 1950, though we suspect that may well be an error for c. 1850. That said, the present offering notably carries the same diagnostic die crack that extends from the King's shoulder up to his cheek as is seen on the plate coins in both Friedberg and Gadoury, and it is noticeably free of any die rust, suggesting that original dies were used to produce this selection, and all but confirming that a restrike two to three centuries afterward is highly unlikely. From the Paramount Collection."

In the 1640's the regime of Louis XIII finally prevailed upon reluctant mint officals to switch from hammered to milled coinage. As part of the transition, new gold coins were introduced. The louis d'or and double louis d'or of Louis XIII were struck 1640-43 in fairly large quantities in an attempt to displace the miscellaneous écus d'or of earlier in the reign and that of Henri IV. Larger pieces, including four, eight and ten louis, were struck for presentation but never issued for circulation. Altho the Paris mint restruck some of the eight louis and ten louis, all remain rare.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 67.51 g, 0.917 fine gold, 46-47.5 mm diameter, reeded edge, this specimen 67.11 g.

Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 13 (draped bust, shown here), Dr/4 № 14 (bare bust), cf. KM 115, Fr-405 (Original; same dies), Gad-63 (R5; same), Ciani-1606-1607 (this type on the cover), Dupl-1293.

Source:

  • Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
  • Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
  • 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.
  • Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Royales Françaises, 1610-1792, 5me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2018.
  • [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano and Warren Tucker, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3096, featuring the Paramount Collection of World & Ancient Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.

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