France 1643-A ecu
This specimen was lot 252 in Classical Numismatic Group's sale of the Lissner Collection (Chicago, August 2014), where it sold for $10,890. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE, Royal. Louis XIII le Juste (the Just). 1610–1643. AR Écu d’argent. Paris mint; différent: pellet. Dated 1643 A. In NGC encapsulation graded MS 62. Toned with choice light gray mottled patina over lustrous silver surfaces. A superb type coin of Louis XIII. This is the last French coin Dick purchased after waiting over fifty years for a suitable example. Purchased from M. Louis Teller, June 2012." This type is the first silver écu, part of the coinage reform which attempted to replace hammered coinage with milled coinage. Its face value was 60 sols tournois. The écu of Louis XIII were struck 1641-43 in fairly large quantities in an attempt to displace the miscellaneous écus d'or of earlier in the reign and that of Henri IV. The écu would be struck until the end of the ancien régime in 1792.
Recorded mintage: 208,634 with point (shown here) and 342,870 with rose.
Specification: 27.45 g, 0.917 fine silver, 39-41 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by J. B. Dufour or François Warin, this specimen 39 mm diameter, 27.16 g, 6h axis.
Catalog reference: Dav-3797, Duplessy 1349; Ciani 1664; KM 129.1, Dr/4 № 120, Dr/2 № 104.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- Droulers, Frédéric, Répertoire General des Monnaies de Louis XIII à Louis XVI (1610-1792), 4e édition. Paris: AFPN, 2009.
- 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]Teller, M. Louis, and Victor England, Jr., The Richard Lissner Collection, Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group, 2014.
Link to:
- 1643-H double tournois de Warin
- 1643-A double tournois
- 1643-A 1/12 écu
- 1643-D 1/12 écu
- 1643-A quart d'écu de Louis XIII
- 1643-A quart d'écu à la mèche courte
- 1643 quart d'écu du Béarn, Morlaàs mint
- 1643-AR quart d'écu au marteau, écu de face
- 1643-K quart d'écu au marteau, Louis XIV
- 1643-M quart d'écu au marteau, croix de face
- 1643-Z quart d'écu au marteau
- 1643 quart d'écu du Béarn, Pau mint
- 1643-D demi-écu de 30 sols, Louis XIII
- 1643-A demi-écu de 30 sols, Louis XIII
- 1643-A demi-écu à la mèche courte, Louis XIV
- 1643-A écu à la mèche courte, Louis XIV
- 1643-D écu de 60 sols, Louis XIII
- 1643-A demi-Louis d'or, Louis XIII
- 1643-A demi-louis d'or à la mèche courte
- 1643-A louis d'or, Louis XIII
- 1643-A louis d'or à la mèche courte, Louis XIV
- Coins and currency dated 1643
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)