France 1750-Pau ecu
This specimen was lot 74731 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $312. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Ecu, 1750-(cow). Pau Mint. Louis XV. PCGS AU-55. From the Richard August Collection." Most of the mints were in small towns, operated to provide patronage for local politicians. In gold, Paris, Strasbourg, Lille and Pau were the most important; in silver, Bayonne, Paris, Pau, Aix and Rennes predominated. As a remnant of its former position as the capital of the kingdom of Navarre, the Pau mint was permitted to use a slightly different obverse legend than the other mints. Hence its product is catalogued today as a separate subtype. Its écus and louis d’or are common, other denominations very rare.
Recorded mintage: 99,000, a fairly common date[2].
Specification: 29.49 g, 0.917 fine silver, 39-41 mm diameter, edge lettered DOMINE SALVUM FAC REGEM, designed by Norbert Roëttiers.
Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 820a, Dav-A1331; Gad-322a; KM-518.
- Alhéritière, Edouard, and Ludovic Deswelle, "Les écus de Louis XV de bandeau: point de situation," Numismatique et Change, No. 349 [Mai 2004], pp. 61-63.
- Clairand, Armand, Monnaies de Louis XV, Le temps de la Stabilité Monetaire, 1726-1774, Paris: Maison Platt, 1996.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
- Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
- [2]Droulers, Frédéric, Répertoire General des Monnaies de Louis XIII à Louis XVI (1610-1792), 4e édition. Paris: AFPN, 2009.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Royales Françaises, 1610-1792, 5me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2018.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- George Sobin, Jr., The Silver Crowns of France, 1640-1973. Teaneck, NJ: Richard Margolis, 1974.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, September 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, including Selections from the Richard Margolis Collection and Selections from the L.E. Bruun Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
Link to:
- 1746 écu au bandeau du Béarn
- 1750-A dixième d'écu au bandeau
- 1750-D dixième d'écu au bandeau
- 1750-A écu au bandeau
- 1750-AA écu au bandeau
- 1750-I écu au bandeau
- 1750-A louis d'or au bandeau
- 1750-ϽC louis d'or au bandeau
- 1750-W louis d'or au bandeau
- 1750-E double louis d'or au bandeau
- 1753 écu au bandeau du Béarn
- Coins and currency dated 1750
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)