Franche Comte 1590 2 denier
This specimen was lot 1187 in Jean Elsen sale 163 (Brussels, November 2025), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCHE-COMTÉ, Philippe II (1556-1598), Cu double denier, 1590, Dole. D/ B. cour. à g. R/ Lion deb. dans un champ semé de billettes. Nettoyé. (free county of Burgundy, Philip II, 1556-98, copper double denier of 1590, Dole mint. Obverse: crowned bust right; reverse: lion rampant left in a field seeded with dominoes. Cleaned, about Very Fine.)"
This type is noted in Numista for 1589-90. Franche Comté was originally part of the Burgundian inheritance. When the native dynasty lapsed in 1477, the lands were partitioned between the king of France and the Hapsburgs. The duchy of Burgundy fell to France and the county of Burgundy (later called Franche Comté) to the Hapsburgs and then to the Spanish Hapsburgs. 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: 3.1 g, copper, 22 mm diameter, this specimen is 2,38 g.
Catalog reference: Dole R21a; VH 352.
- 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.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 163, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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