France 1792-K ecu

Stack's Bowers 2025 ANA sale, lot 43087

This specimen was lot 43087 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Oklahoma City, OK, August 2025), where it sold for $840. The catalog description^[1] noted, "FRANCE. Constitution. Ecu, Year 4/1792-K. Bordeaux Mint. Louis XVI. PCGS AU-55. Second semester (with dots under U & S). The only example of the type in the PCGS census, this near-Mint specimen offers a gunmetal gray hue along with subtle hints of olive and glints of brilliance among the protected areas. From the Richard Margolis Collection (acquired from Münzen und Medaillen in Basel on 26 November 1962 for $8.85)." This specimen is a "constitutional écu" struck at the Bordeaux mint, one of a type struck there 1792-93, prior to the trial and execution of the king. Its divisions were the ½, 1/4 and 1/8 écu, struck in billon. The écu was worth $1.10 in the USA before the Civil War. The 1792-A and 1793-A are the most available dates of this scarce type.

Recorded mintage: unknown, a better date but not rare.

Specification: 29.48 g, 0.917 fine silver, 39 mm diameter, lettered edge.

Catalog reference: Dav-1335; KM-615.7; Gad-55.

Sources:

Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
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 Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
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.
^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2025 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Richard August Collection and the Richard Margolis Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.

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France 1792-K ecu

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