France 1784-Pau ecu

From CoinVarieties
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Jean Elsen sale 132, lot 822

This specimen was lot 822 in Jean Elsen sale 132 (Brussels, March 2017), where it sold for €80 (about US$101 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[2] noted,

"FRANCE, Royaume, Louis XVI (1774-1793), AR écu du Béarn aux rameaux d'olivier, 1784, Pau. D/ B. habillé à g., les cheveux noués par un ruban. R/ Ecu de France couronné, entre deux rameaux d'olivier. Légères traces d'ajustage. Très Beau. (kingdom of France, Louis XVI (1774-93), silver écu of Béarn with olive branches of 1784, Pau mint. Obverse: uniformed bust to left, hair tied in a ribbon; reverse: crowned arms of France between two olive branches. Light adjustment marks, very fine.)"

This specimen is an écu au buste habillé struck at the Pau mint, one of a type struck there 1775-91. 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 1783-Pau is listed[1] about 40% higher than the most common date (1789-A) but it is a common mint for 1784.

Recorded mintage: 1,529,600[1], common.

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, this specimen 29,25 g.

Catalog reference: Dav-A1333, Dr/4 № 883a, Dr/2 № 616a, KM 564, Dupl-1708; Gad-356a.

Source:

  • [1]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.
  • Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
  • 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.
  • [2]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 132, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2017.
  • George Sobin, Jr., The Silver Crowns of France, 1640-1973. Teaneck, NJ: Richard Margolis, 1974.

Links to:

Retrieved from "https://coinvarieties.com/index.php?title=France_1784-Pau_ecu&oldid=469828"