Orange 1621 1/2 franc
This specimen was lot 902 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €190 (about US$263 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, ORANGE, Maurice de Nassau (1618-1625), AR demi-franc, 1621. D/ B. dr. et cuir. à d., avec une fraise. R/ Croix fleuronnée, ornée de quatre lis, une rosette en coeur. Cornet en début de légende. Griffes. (France, principality of Orange, Maurice of Nassau, 1618-25, silver half franc of 1621. Obverse: draped, armored and ruffed bust right; reverse: floriate cross, decorated with four lilies, a rosette at the center. Mintmark cornet at the beginning of the legend. about Very Fine, scratches.)"
The principality of Orange passed to William the Silent, stadtholder of the Netherlands, in 1544, and was ruled by his descendants until it was ceded to Louis XIV in 1702. The French half franc this coin imitated was 7.09 g, 0.833 fine silver. This type is listed in the SCWC for 1619 and 1621 but we have a 1620 on this site.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 6.87 g, silver, this specimen 6,28 g.
Catalog reference: KM 43, B. 1001; P.A. 4593; van der Wiel 43.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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