Tournai (1394) ecu d'or Fr-376
This specimen was lot 775 in Jean Elsen sale 158 (Brussels, March 2024), where it sold for €460 (about US$598 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"TOURNAI, atelier royal français, Charles VI (1380-1422), AV écu d'or à la couronne, 4e émission (juillet 1394), point 16e (plein). Différents: annelet devant REX et IMPERAT. D/ Ecu de France couronné. R/ Croix fleurdelisée et feuillue, une étoile à six rayons au centre, dans un quadrilobe cantonné de quatre couronnes. Bosselé. presque Très Beau. (lordship of Tournai, royal French mint, Charles VI, 1380-1422, gold écu of the crown, fourth emission of July 1341, sixteenth point, annulet privy mark. Obverse: crowned arms of France; reverse: floriate and leafed cross, a star of six rays at the center, within a quadrilobe cantonned with four crowns. Dented, about Very Fine.)"
The second specimen was lot 1214 in Jean Elsen sale 164 (Brussels, March 2026), where it sold for €850 (about US$1,183 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"TOURNAI, atelier royal français, Charles VI (1380-1422), AV écu d'or à la couronne, 4e émission (octobre 1398), point 16e (plein). Avec Λ non barré dans FRΛNCORVM ET IMPERΛT. D/ Écu de France couronné. R/ Croix fleurdelisée et feuillue, une étoile à six pointes au centre, dans un quadrilobe cantonné de quatre couronnes. Légers dépôts. Provient de notre liste 243, janvier 2008, 897. Très Beau à Superbe. (lordship of Tournai, French royal mint, Charles VI, 1380-1422, gold écu of the crown, fourth emission of October 1398, dot under the 16th letter, "A's" without bars in the obverse legend. Obverse: crowned arms of France; reverse: leafed and floriate cross, a star with six points at the center, within a quadrilobe cantonned with four crowns. Light deposits, Very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"
This écu d'or à la couronne was not minted by the duke of Burgundy, who was also lord of Tournai, but by the king of France himself. It is identical to the products of the other French mints (Fr-291), being marked as Tournai by the dot under the 16th letter of the legend. Duplessy noted that it had a face value of 22 sols, 6 deniers tournois.
Reported Mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.94 g, 1.000 fine gold, the first specimen 3,66 g; the second specimen 3,93 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-376, Dupl-369C; Laf. 378a; Hoc 101; Delm-432.
- Delmonte, A., Le Bénélux D'or, Amsterdam: Jacques Schulman N.V., 1964, with supplements to 1977.
- Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome I, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
- 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 158, Monnaies de la Principauté de Liège, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2024.
- [2]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 164: Monnaies du duché de Brabant et du royaume de Belgique, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2026.
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