France 1642-A 1/4 ecu

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Jean Elsen sale 141, lot 1208
from the Mountain Groan Collection
rose on reverse
Stack's Bowers September 2025 Collectors Choice sale, lot 74658
two dots on reverse
Stack's Bowers September 2025 Collectors Choice sale, lot 74659
one dot on reverse

The first specimen was lot 1208 in Jean Elsen sale 141 (Brussels, June 2019), where it sold for €80 (about US$106 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"FRANCE, Royaume, Louis XIII (1610-1643), AR quart d'écu, 1642A, Paris. Deuxième poinçon. Rosette initiale. D/ B. l., dr. et cuir. à d. R/ Ecu de France couronné. Très Beau. (kingdom of France, Louis XIII, 1610-43, silver quarter écu of 1642, Paris mint, second punch, initial rosette. Obverse: laureate, draped and armored bust right; reverse: crowned arms of France. Very Fine.)"

This specimen is a quart d'écu struck in Paris at the end of the reign of Louis XIII (r. 1610-43). It is a product of a major reform of French coinage which attempted to abolish hammered coinage once and for all. In this the regime was not successful, but large quantities of these handsome coins were released 1642-43 and the type is reasonably available today. All are Paris mint except for a small issue from Lyon in 1643. A variety exists where the king is only draped and not armored. The last hammered quarter écu listed is dated 1652.

Recorded mintage: 548,900 at Matignon (rose mintmark, see first and second specimens) plus 42,100 at the Louvre (one dot, see fourth specimen). Additional varieties include rose and star (m. 98,800), 1642/3 overdate and two dots (m. 62,420, see third specimen) and two dots and star (m. 77,230).

Specification: 6.86 g, 0.917 fine silver, plain edge, the first specimen 6,77 g.

Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 126, Dr/2 № 107, Dupl-1351; Gad-48, KM 134.1.

Source:

  • Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
  • 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]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 141, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2019.
  • [2]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.

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