France 1781-Q ecu
This specimen was lot 74431 in Stack's Bowers May 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, May 2026), where it sold for $109. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Ecu, 1781-Q. Perpignan Mint. Louis XVI. NGC EF Details--Environmental Damage." This specimen is an écu au buste habillé struck at the Bayonne mint, one of a type struck there 1775-91. Its divisions were the half, 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.
Recorded mintage: 1,006,999[2], the highest mintage date for Perpignan and the most common mint for 1781.
Specification: 29.48 g, 0.917 fine silver, 41 mm diameter, lettered edge.
Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 883, Dr/2 № 616, Dav-1333; KM-564.13; Gad-356.
- [2]Droulers, Frédéric, Répertoire General des Monnaies de Louis XIII à Louis XVI (1610-1792), 2nd édition. Paris: AFPN, 1998.
- 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.
- George Sobin, Jr., The Silver Crowns of France, 1640-1973. Teaneck, NJ: Richard Margolis, 1974.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, May 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancients, World Coins & World Paper Money, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2026.
Link to:
- 1775-Q écu au buste habillé
- 1781-AA sol à l'écu
- 1781-A dixième d'écu au buste habillé
- 1781-A cinquième d'écu au buste habillé
- 1781-A demi-écu au buste habillé
- 1781-L écu au buste habillé
- 1781-W double louis d'or au buste habillé
- 1782-Q écu au buste habillé
- Coins and currency dated 1781
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)