France 1776-R ecu
This specimen was lot 74764 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $288. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Ecu, 1776/5-R. Orleans Mint. Louis XVI. PCGS VF-30. Overdate variety. From the Richard August Collection." This specimen is an écu au buste habillé struck at the Orléans mint, one of a type struck there 1775-91. This is the first Orléans mint écu au buste habillé we have posted. This is the first 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.
Recorded mintage: 2,086; a rare date.
Specification: 29.48 g, 0.917 fine silver, 41-42 mm diameter, edge lettered DOMINE SALVUM FAC REGEM.
Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 883, Dr/2 № 616, Dav-1333; KM-564.14; Gad-356.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
- 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.
- Guilloteau, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, Colonies 1670-1942 et Metropole 1774-1942, Versailles, 1942.
- 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:
- 1776-A dixième d'écu au buste habillé
- 1776-I écu au buste habillé
- 1776-L écu au buste habillé
- 1776-W écu au buste habillé
- 1776-A louis d'or au buste habillé
- 1776-D double 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
- Coins and currency dated 1776
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)