France 1680-L ecu
This specimen was lot 34350 in Heritage sale 3038 (Dallas, January 2015), where it sold for $705. The catalog description[2] noted, "Louis XIV Ecu a la Cravate 1680-L About VF Scratches. Bayonne, (L), mint. Lightly toned, cleaned long ago with some reverse scratches noted. A scarcer Ecu type." This type was struck in France 1672-85 in fairly large quantities but was the victim of repeated "reformations," where older écus were called in and restruck. As a result, the type is rare today. It was succeeded by the écu drapé à l'antique of 1684-87. Droulers[1] prices this date as common, but even a common date is priced over three times that of an écu à la mèche longue. Varieties exist.
Recorded mintage: 588,595[1].
Specification: 27.45 g, 0.917 fine silver, 37-41 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by F. Warin.
Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 474, Dr/2 № 354, Gad-210, Dav-3805.
- [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.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- [2]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage Signature Auction 3038, featuring the Empire, the Santa Catarina, the Law and the Santa Maria Collections, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2014.
Link to: