France 1646-A 1/4 ecu
This is a quart d'écu à la mèche longue (quarter écu of the "long lock") struck at the Paris mint (mintmark "A") during the minority of king Louis XIV of France (r. 1643-1715). This specimen was lot 32753 in Heritage sale 3064 (Chicago, April 2018), where it sold for $660. The catalog description[2] noted, "Louis XIV 1/4 Ecu 1646-A MS63 PCGS, Paris mint. An explosion of warm colors erupt from the neutral argent surfaces of this wonderful coin, with streams of red and gold around the devices catching hues of sky blue and magenta, while the peripheral blue of the reverse imbues the legends with a glossy, yet crisp, appearance. A similar example (at the time considered the finest specimen known), though without the profusion of brilliant colors, sold in our special selection of pieces from the Eric P. Newman Collection (sale 241414, lot 16034) in 2014 for a hammer of $900. From the Jamestown Collection." The type was struck 1646-60 at numerous mints but never in the numbers of the 1/12 écu, half écu or écu. Droulers[1] prices this date about 25% higher than the common date (such as 1652-A).
Recorded mintage: 267,062[1].
Specification: 6.86 g, 0.917 fine silver, 27 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by Jean Warin.
Catalog reference: KM 162.1, C.1851, Gad-140, Dy.1471, Dr/4 № 646, Dr/2 № 304.
- [1]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.
- 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.
- [2]Cristiano Bierrenbach and Warren Tucker, Heritage World Coin Auction 3064, featuring the Doug Robins Collection of Canadian Tokens, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2018.
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