France 1757-Pau ecu

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This specimen of the écu au bandeau is from the Pau mint. Pau, high up in the Pyrenees, was a backwoods town but in this period was becoming an important stop in the French-Spanish trade. Many Spanish and Spanish American coins disappeared into the mint's furnaces, to be reborn as French écus au bandeau, hence this mintmark is common.

Recorded mintage: 405,045 (better than common but not rare).

Specification:

Obverse: LUD.XV.D.G.FR ET NA.RE. BD, king’s head left, hair tied with a ribbon;
reverse: SIT NOMEN DOMINI BENEDICTUM (date), oval shield of France, crowned, between two olive branches tied with ribbon, mintmark below; edge lettered DOMINE SALVUM FAC REGEM.
composition: silver, 11 deniers (.917 fine), 8.3 pieces to the mark (29.488 g), face value 6 livres, 39 mm diameter. Engraved by Joseph-Charles Röettiers.

Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 820a, Dr/2 № 584a, KM 518, Dav-1331.

Sources:

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.
George Sobin, Jr., The Silver Crowns of France, 1640-1973. Teaneck, NJ: Richard Margolis, 1974.
Clairand, Armand, Monnaies de Louis XV, Le temps de la Stabilité Monetaire, 1726-1774, Paris: Maison Platt, 1996.
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.
Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.

Link to:

France 1757-Pau ecu

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