Savoy (1490-96) quarto
This specimen was lot 913 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €60 (about US$83 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIE, SAVOIE, Duché, Charles Jean Amédée (1490-1496), billon quarto, Turin (?). Au nom de Blanche, régente. D/ FERT gothique dans le champ. R/ Croix de saint Maurice. Rare. (Italy, duchy of Savoy, Charles John Amadeus, 1490-96, 1490-96, billon quarto, perhaps Turin mint, struck in the name of the regent Blanche. Obverse: Gothic FERT in the field; reverse: cross of St. Maurice. Rare, Fine.)"
The French invasion of Italy in 1494 was the beginning of the end of the Renaissance as the devastation of the resulting war terminated Italian prosperity. Charles John Amadeus died in 1496 of a fall, aged 7 years. He was succeeded by his great uncle Philip II.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: billon, this specimen 1,11 g.
Catalog reference: Sim. 2/1; M.I.R. 270a.
- Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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