France 1793-M ecu

Jean Elsen sale 122, lot 897

from the Mountain Groan Collection

The first specimen was lot 897 in Jean Elsen sale 122 (Brussels, September 2014), where it sold for €160 (about US$245 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"FRANCE, Convention (1792-1795), AR écu constitutionnel, 1793 M, an 5, Toulouse. Droit: Tête nue à gauche, les cheveux noués par un ruban. Revers: Génie inscrivant la constitution sur une table. A gauche, un faisceau. A droite, un coq. Beau à Très Beau. (kingdom of France, Louis XVI (1774-93), silver constitutional écu of 1793, Toulouse mint.)"

This specimen is a "constitutional écu" struck at the Toulouse 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 common.

Specification: silver, 11 deniers (.917 fine), 8.3 pieces to the mark (29.488 g), face value 6 livres, 39 mm diameter. The first specimen is 29,07 g.

Catalog reference: Dav-1335; Duplessy 1718; Ciani 2238; Gad-55; KM 615.9.

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]Philippe Elsen et al., Vente Publique 122: Collection de monnaies chinoises, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S. A., 2014.
George Sobin, Jr., The Silver Crowns of France, 1640-1973. Teaneck, NJ: Richard Margolis, 1974.

Link to:

France 1793-M ecu

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