France 1659-I 1/12 ecu

Goldberg sale 112, lot 2077

This specimen was lot 2077 in Goldberg sale 112 (Los Angeles, September 2019), where it sold for $132. The catalog description^[1] noted, "France. 1/12 Ecu, 1659-I (Limoges). Louis XIV. Laureate, draped and mailed bust right, long hair curl. Brilliant mint luster. NGC graded AU-50." Shown is a douzième d'écu à la mèche longue struck 1646-59 during the minority of Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715). By some fluke of fashion, this coin became very popular in the Levantine trade and large numbers were minted and exported. It was imitated in Orange, Monaco, Dombes and Italy (where it was called the "luigino") until the market was saturated and the price dropped back to its face value of five sols.

Recorded mintage: 42,414 including some douzième d'écu au buste juvénile.

Specification: 2.28 g, 0.917 fine silver, 19-20 mm diameter, designed by Jean Warin.

Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 724, KM-166.9; Gad-112.

Source:

^[2]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.
Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
^[1]Goldberg, Ira, Larry Goldberg, John Lavender, Yifu Che, Jason Villareal and Stephen Harvey, Goldberg Sale 112: the Pre-Long Beach Auction, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, 2019.

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France 1659-I 1/12 ecu

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