Monaco 1735 3 sols
This specimen was lot 1090 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €180 (about US$250 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"MONACO, Honoré III (1733-1795), billon pezzetta, 1735. D/ B. dr. et cuir. à d. R/ Croix formée de quatre H couronnés, cantonnée de quatre fuseaux. Rare. (principality of Monaco, Honorius III, 1733-95, billon pezzetta of 1735. Obverse: draped and armored bust right; reverse: cross formed of four crowned H's cantonned with four diamonds. Rare, Fine - Very Fine.)"
The coinage of Monaco in the eighteenth century is scanty, mostly imitations of French or Sardinian coinage. The result was a mix of French and Italian denominations. Three deniers = one liard; 4 liards = one sol; 3 sols = one pezetta (shown here); 20 pezettas = one scudo. This type was struck 1734-35 and was accompanied by 8 deniers (KM 87) and 1½ sols (KM 88, 89).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.8-4.6 g, billon, this specimen 3,53 g.
Catalog reference: KM 85, Gad-100; CNI III, 560, 7.
- Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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