France 1776-L ecu
This specimen was lot 72018 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, May 2023), where it sold for $504. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Ecu, 1776-L. Bayonne Mint. Louis XVI. PCGS AU-50. This nice example delivers good brilliance and soft dove gray color throughout. A charming specimen for any collector of French issues." This specimen is an écu au buste habillé struck at the Bayonne mint, one of a type struck there 1775-92. Its divisions were the ½, 1/5, 1/10 and 1/20 écu, struck in modest quantities. The écu was worth $1.10 in the USA before the Civil War. The écu au buste habillé is the most popular coin of Louis XVI among collectors. The 1776-L is listed[2] about 20% higher than the most common date (1789-A) but it is a common mint for 1776.
Recorded mintage: 1,039,462[2].
Specification: silver, 11 deniers (.917 fine), 8.3 pieces to the mark (29.488 g), face value 6 livres, 39 mm diameter. Engraved by Benjamin Duvivier.
Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 883, Dr/2 № 616, Dav-1333; KM-564.9; Gad-356.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
- [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.
- 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, May 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, Featuring the Richard Elliott Collection of Hooknecks, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
Link to:
- 1775-A écu au buste habillé
- 1775-B écu au buste habillé
- 1775-Q écu au buste habillé
- 1775-W écu au buste habillé
- 1776-A dixième d'écu au buste habillé
- 1776-I écu au buste habillé
- 1776-R écu au buste habillé
- 1776-W écu au buste habillé
- 1776-A louis d'or au buste habillé
- 1776-K double louis d'or au buste habillé
- 1776-W double louis d'or au buste habillé
- 1776-& double louis d'or au buste habillé
- 1777-L écu au buste habillé
- Coins and currency dated 1776
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)