Luxembourg (1325-36) florin d'or Fr-1
This specimen was lot 1142 in Jean Elsen sale 144 (Brussels, March 2020), where it sold for €4,100 (about US$5,402 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LUXEMBOURG, Comté, Jean l'Aveugle (1309-1346), AV florin d'or, après 1325, Luxembourg. D/ (couronne) IOH'ES- R BOEH Lis florentin. R/ ·S· IOHA-NNES· B· Saint Jean-Baptiste deb. de f., ten. un sceptre. En haut à g., petit heaume cimé d'un vol, tourné à g. Très rare Légère faiblesse de frappe. presque Très Beau. (county of Luxembourg, John the Blind, 1309-46, gold florin, struck at Luxembourg after 1325. Obverse: Florentine lily; reverse: John the Baptist facing, bearing a scepter; to the left, a small winged helmet turned to the left. Very rare, slightly weak strike, about Very Fine.)"
John the Blind (1296-1346) was the count of Luxembourg from 1313 and king of Bohemia from 1310 and titular king of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting in the Battle of Crécy at age 50, after having been blind for a decade. Unable to establish effective control over the nobility of the kingdom of Bohemia, he abandoned it to court officials and spent most of his reign in Luxembourg and at the French court. This coin is an imitation of the florin d'or of Florence.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold, this specimen 3,51 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-1, Weiller 53; Probst L60-1.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 144, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2020.
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