Franche Comte 1550 niquet
This specimen was lot 1210 in Jean Elsen sale 150 (Brussels, March 2022), where it sold for €525 (about US$696 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCHE-COMTE, Charles Quint (1530-1556), billon niquet, 1550, Dole. D/ + C V IMPERATOR Lettre K couronnée. R/ + MC BVRGVNDIE 1550 Briquet sur une croix de saint André. Extrêmement rare Fine griffe au revers et petit éclat sur la tranche. Très Beau à Superbe. Provient de notre vente 91, 24 mars 2007, 921. (free county of Burgundy, Charles V, 1530-56, billon niquet of 1550, Dole mint. Obverse: a crowned "K"; reverse: a briquet over a St. Andrew's cross. Extremely rare, fine scratch on the reverse and a rim bump. Very Fine - Extremely Fine)"
Altho Franche Comte is today a region of France to the east of Burgundy, in the sixteenth century it was firmly part of the Holy Roman Empire and was ruled by the Spanish branch of the Hapsburgs in the person of Charles V. Long coveted by the French kings, the county finally fell to Louis XIV in the late 1670's and incorporated into the royal domain. Besançon, the capital, became the site of a French mint (mintmark "CC"). The niquet was originally a French denomination of the late fifteenth century, made of low grade (<10%) silver.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: billon, this specimen 0,61 g.
Catalog reference: V.H. 244 (this example); Dole R8a.
- van Gelder, H. Enno, and Marcel Hoc, Les Monnaies des pays-Bas Bourguignons et Espagnols, 1434-1713, Amsterdam, J. Schulman, 1960, with supplement of 1964.
- Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 150: Collection J.F.L. Blankenberg, Monnaies de l'Orient Latin, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2022.
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