Lorraine 1603 teston

Jean Elsen sale 134, lot 1853

Lorraine in 1547, from Putzger's atlas

This specimen was lot 1853 in Jean Elsen sale 134 (Brussels, September 2017), where it sold for €150 (about US$212 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"FRANCE, STRASBOURG, Evêché, Charles de Lorraine (1593-1607), AR teston (quart d'écu), 1603. D/ B. à g. en habit épiscopal. R/ ALSAS· LANDGRAV Armoiries sous le chapeau de cardinal. Léger défaut de flan sur la tranche. Très Beau. (France, bishopric of Strasbourg, Charles of Lorraine, 1593-1607, silver teston or quarter écu of 1603. Obverse: bust left in clerical robe; reverse: arms of Alsace below a cardinal's hat. Minor planchet defects, 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, this specimen 8,41 g.

Catalog reference: B. 1322; Engel-Lehr 238, KM unlisted.

Source:

• ^[1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 134, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2017..

Link to:

• 1603 thaler
• Coins and currency dated 1603
• return to French royal coinage (to 1793)