Tournai 1643 2 souverain d'or Fr-396
This specimen was lot 820 in Jean Elsen sale 158 (Brussels, March 2024), where it sold for €4,200 (about US$5,462 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"TOURNAI, Seigneurie, Philippe IV (1621-1665), AV double souverain, 1643. Deuxième type. D/ B. couronné à d., au mince collet. R/ Ecu couronné, entouré du collier de la Toison d'or. Rare. Légère double frappe. Très Beau à Superbe. (lordship of Tournai, Philip IV, 1621-65, gold double souverain of 1643, Tournai mint, second type. Obverse: crowned bust right in thin collar; reverse: crowned arms, Order chain around. Rare, slightly double struck, Very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"
This type is listed for Flanders, Brabant and Artois but is nowhere common. In 1637, the bust was revised to show a much smaller ruffed collar. The tower mintmark denotes this as a Tournai issue.
Reported Mintage: 40,000.
Specification: 11.06 g, 0.919 fine gold, this specimen 10,79 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-396, KM 55, G.H. 324-9b; Delm-447; Hoc 476; VH 637.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Delmonte, A., Le Bénélux D'or, Amsterdam: Jacques Schulman N.V., 1964, with supplements to 1977.
- 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.
- 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 158, Monnaies de la Principauté de Liège, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2024.
Link to: