Lorraine 1584 1/4 teston
This specimen was lot 2366 in Jean Elsen sale 160 (Brussels, November 2024), where it sold for €120 (about US$152 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, LORRAINE, Duché, Charles III (1545-1608), AR quart de teston, 1584, Nancy. D/ B. âgé et cuir. à d. R/ Ecu couronné, accosté de deux croix de Lorraine. Date à l'exergue. Rare. Eclats du flan. Beau à Très Beau. (France, duchy of Lorraine, Charles III, 1545-1608, silver quarter teston of 1584, Nancy mint. Obverse: older armored bust right; reverse: crowned arms between two crosses of Lorraine, date in the exergue. Rare, edge cracks, fine to 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: 2.3 g, silver, 22-23 mm diameter, this specimen 2,09 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB22, Flon 659, 145; Saulcy XXII, 3 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 160, Collection de deniers liegeois et Collection de monnaies d'or francaises, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2024.
Link to: