Lorraine 1533 1/4 teston
This specimen was lot 1731 in Jean Elsen sale 144 (Brussels, March 2020), where it sold for €550 (about US$725 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, LORRAINE, Duché, Antoine (1508-1544), AR quart de teston, 1533, Nancy. D/ B. couronné à g. R/ Ecu couronné entre deux croix de Lorraine. La date à l'exergue. Très rare Beau portrait. Très Beau. (France, duchy of Lorraine, Antoine, 1508-44, silver quarter teston of 1533, Nancy mint. Obverse: crowned bust left; reverse: crowned arms between two crosses of Lorraine, date in exergue. Very rare, nice portrait, Very Fine.)"
Altho the duke doubtless spoke French, he did not consider himself a subject of the king of France but rather of the emperor. The province would not fall under French domination until after the Thirty Years War and was not annexed until the death of the last duke in 1766.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, 2,40 g.
Catalog reference: Flon 595, 71; Saulcy XV, 13 var.
- 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 144, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2020.
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