Lorraine 1718 teston
This specimen was lot 1108 in Jean Elsen sale 137 (Brussels, June 2018), where it sold for €130 (about US$181 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, LORRAINE, Léopold Ier (1690-1729), AR teston, 1718, Nancy. D/ B. nu à d., coiffé d'une grande perruque. R/ Ecu de Lorraine couronné. Traces d'ajustage. Très Beau. (duchy of Lorraine, Leopold I, 1690-1729, silver teston of 1718, Nancy mint. Obverse: bare bust to right in a large wig; reverse: crowned arms of Lorraine. Light adjustment marks, Very fine.)"
Lorraine in the early eighteenth century was in the borderlands between France and Germany and was contested between them. In 1721, she was still part of the Empire but the duke was a French client. His son, Francis III (1729-37) married Maria Theresia of Austria and was forced to trade Lorraine for Tuscany. Lorraine went to Stanislaus Leszczynski, erstwhile king of Poland and father-in-law of Louis XV. On his death in 1766, Lorraine passed to France. This coin is listed in the SCWC for 1718-23 but not 1721. It is very scarce.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver; this specimen 8,94 g.
Catalog reference: Flon 905, 111; Saulcy XXXI, 5, KM 98.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 137, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2018.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
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