Tournai 1590 1/5 ecu

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Jean Elsen sale 115, lot 584
Tournai 1590 1-5 ecu rev JElsen 115-584.jpg
Tournai in 1559

This specimen was lot 584 in Jean Elsen sale 115 (Brussels, December 2012) where it sold for €170 (about US$259 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"TOURNAI, Seigneurie, Philippe II (1555-1598), restauré, AR cinquième d'écu Philippe, 1590, Droit: B. cuirassé à gauche. Revers: Ecu couronné avec écusson de Portugal en surtout, sur une croix de Bourgogne, entre deux briquets, portant le bijou de la Toison d'or. Taches au revers. Ex HSA 9875. presque Très Beau. (lordship of Tournai, Philip II restored (1555-98), silver fifth écu of 1590. Obverse: armored bust to left; reverse: crowned arms over a Burgundian cross between the jewels of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Stains on the reverse, about very fine.)"

This type was struck 1582-90 as a very early experiment with decimal coinage, over a century before Russia adopted her hundred kopeks = one ruble. Twentieth, tenth and fifth écus were minted in Artois, Brabant, Flanders, Hainaut and Tournai.

Reported Mintage: unknown.

Specification: 6.80 g, 0.833 fine silver, this specimen 6.69 g.

Catalog reference: G.H., 212-14b; Hoc, 289.

Source:

  • van Gelder, H. Enno, and Marcel Hoc, Les Monnaies des pays-Bas Bourguignons et Espagnols, 1434-1713, Amsterdam, J. Schulman, 1960, with supplement of 1964.
  • [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 115: Collection Huntington, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2012.

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