France 1790-L 1/2 ecu

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Stack's Bowers September 2025 Collectors Choice sale, lot 71029
SB925-71029r.jpg

This specimen was lot 71029 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $1,320. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Kingdom. 1/2 Ecu, 1790-L. Bayonne Mint. Louis XVI. PCGS EF-40. An EXTREMELY RARE issue that is unlisted for the year in both the Standard Catalog (KM) and Gadoury, this evenly circulated minor offers some attractive deeper toning to offset its appeal. Margolis writes that this specimen is '...the only example known to me.' From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Patrick Guillard on 31 January 2010 for $2,217)." This type was struck 1774-92 with the Bayonne mint listed for 1775-83, 1786 and 1788-89. Being unlisted in all the major references, we presume the 1790-L is as rare as the auctioneers state.

Recorded mintage: unknown but rare.

Specification: 0.917 fine silver, 14.74 g, 30.5 mm diameter, lettered edge.

Catalog reference: Dr/4 № 885 (unlisted date), Dr/2 № 618, cf. KM-562.7 (date not listed); cf. Gad-355 (same).

Source:

  • 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.
  • [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.

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