France 1793-K ecu

Sincona sale 39. lot 3637

This specimen was lot 3637 in Sincona sale 39 (Zürich, May 2017), where it sold for 475 CHF (about US$570 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"FRANCE, Königreich, Constitution, 1791-1793 Ecu constitutionell 1793 K. Bordeaux. Fast vorzüglich-vorzüglich. (kingdom of France, Louis XVI, 1791-93, constitutional écu of 1793, Bordeaux mint. Almost extremely fine-extremely fine.)"

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, the other mints are mostly rare.

Recorded mintage: unknown but fairly common.

Specification: silver, 11 deniers (.917 fine), 8.3 pieces to the mark (29.488 g), face value 6 livres, 39 mm diameter. This specimen is 29.32 g.

Catalog reference: Dav-1335; Duplessy 1718; Ciani 2238; Gad-55; KM 615.8.

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.
Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
^[1]Jürg Richter, Auction 39, World coins and medals, coins and medals from Switzerland, Zürich: Sincona AG, 2017.
George Sobin, Jr., The Silver Crowns of France, 1640-1973. Teaneck, NJ: Richard Margolis, 1974.

Link to:

France 1793-K ecu

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