France 1663-L ecu
This specimen was lot 1532 in Jean Elsen sale 149 (Brussels, December 2021), where it sold for €320 (about US$433 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, Royaume, Louis XIV (1643-1715), AR écu au buste juvénile, 1663L, Bayonne. 1er type. D/ B. à d., les cheveux longs, l., dr. et cuir. Sans Victoire sur la cuirasse. R/ Ecu de France couronné. Fines griffes. Légèrement paillé. Très Beau. (kingdom of France, Louis XIV, 1643-1715, silver écu of the juvenile bust of 1663, Bayonne mint, first type. Obverse: laureate, draped and armored bust right with long hair, without Victory on the harness; reverse: crowned arms of France. Fine scratches, lightly polished, Very Fine.)"
It was offered again as lot 1580 in Jean Elsen sale 156 (Brussels, September 2023), where it sold for €350 (about US$449 including buyer's fees). The specimen shown is a écu au buste juvénile struck at the Rennes mint during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Droulers[2] devotes catalog numbers 444 thru 449 to describe the numerous variations of this bust, introduced in 1659 when the king was 21 years old. This issue is one of the available dates of the type but it is priced over triple the écu à la mèche longue. Altho the succeeding bust, the écu à la cravate, was introduced in 1672, écus juvéniles are known dated as late as 1680.
Recorded mintage: 65,194.
Specification: 27.45 g, 0.917 fine silver, 38-41 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by Jean Warin, this specimen 27,14 g.
Catalog reference: KM 211.3, Dr/4 № 445, Dupl-1483; Gad-205, Dav-3802A.
- [2]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.
- 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.
- George Sobin, Jr., The Silver Crowns of France, 1640-1973. Teaneck, NJ: Richard Margolis, 1974.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 149: Monnaies, Médailles et Décorations, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2021.
Link to:
- 1662-B demi-écu juvénile
- 1662-L demi-écu juvénile
- 1662-Y demi-écu juvénile
- 1662-9 demi-écu juvénile
- 1663-& douzième d'écu au buste juvénile
- 1663 écu du Béarn au buste juvénile, Pau mint
- 1664-L écu au buste juvénile
- 1664-9 écu au buste juvénile
- 1664 écu du Béarn au buste juvénile, Pau mint
- Coins and currency dated 1663
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)