Monaco 1661 1/12 ecu
This specimen was lot 1087 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €220 (about US$305 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"MONACO, Honoré II (1604-1662), AR 5 sols (douzième d'écu), 1661. D/ B. cuir. à d. R/ Écu couronné. Rare. Double frappe au droit. (principality of Monaco, Honorius II, 1604-62, silver five sols or twelfth écu of 1661. Obverse: armored bust right; reverse: crowned arms. Rare, double struck on the obverse, Very Fine.)"
Several Italian states struck this denomination, roughly equal to a French twelfth écu, during a brief fad for these coins in the Levant trade. This type was struck 1660-62. This denomination was last struck in 1681.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 2.15 g, 0.917 fine silver, 21 mm diameter, plain edge, this specimen 2,25 g.
Catalog reference: KM 35, Gad-17; Cammarano 262.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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