Franche Comte 1589-D 4 gros
This specimen was lot 1211 in Jean Elsen sale 150 (Brussels, March 2022), where it sold for €850 (about US$1,127 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCHE-COMTE, Philippe II (1556-1598), AR quatre gros, 1589D, Dole. D/ PHS REX CATHOL HISPAN Ecu couronné. R/ + COMES BVRGVNDIE 1589 D Croix de Bourgogne sous une tour, entre deux lions. Extrêmement rare Belle patine. Très Beau à Superbe. Provient de la collection A.M. Huntington et de notre vente 115, 8 décembre 2012, 752. (free county of Burgundy, Philip II, silver four gros of 1589, Dole mint. Obverse: crowned arms; reverse: Burgundian cross below a tower with two lions. 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 Philip II. 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").
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 4,13 g.
Catalog reference: V.H. 347 (this example); Dole R16 (photo 2, this example).
- 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.
Link to: