Tournai 1596 1/2 ecu
This specimen was lot 582 in Jean Elsen sale 115 (Brussels, December 2012) where it sold for €500 (about US$763 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"TOURNAI, Seigneurie, Philippe II (1555-1598), restauré, AR demi-écu Philippe, 1596, 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. Belle patine. Ex HSA 2405. Très Beau. (lordship of Tournai, Philip II restored (1555-98), silver half écu of 1596. Obverse: armored bust to left; reverse: crowned arms over a Burgundian cross between the jewels of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Nice patina, very fine.)"
This coin, along with similar tenth écus and fifth écus, seems to be the first fumbling attempt at a decimal coinage.
Reported Mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 16.55 g.
Catalog reference: G.H., 211-14c; Delm-77; Hoc, 275.
- 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.
Link to:
- 1590 cinquième d'écu Philippe
- Tournai 1584 1/10 ecu
- Namur 1592 demi-écu Philippe
- 1594 vingtième d'écu Philippe
- 1594 demi-écu Philippe, Antwerp mint
- 1595 demi-écu Philippe
- Brabant 1596 gigot
- Tournai (1598-1611) 2 ducats Fr-288
- 1600 huitième de florin d'argent (stoter)
- (1604-08) réal d'argent
- Coins and currency dated 1596
- return to coins of Spanish Netherlands