Tournai 1647 2 souverain d'or Fr-396
The first specimen was lot 990 in Jean Elsen sale 115 (Brussels, December 2012) where it sold for €2000 (about US$3,053 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"TOURNAI, Seigneurie, Philippe IV (1621-1665), AV double souverain, 1647, Deuxième type. Droit: B. couronné à droite, au mince collet. Revers: Ecu couronné, entouré du collier de la Toison d'or. Ex HSA 16885. presque Superbe. (lordship of Tournai, Philip IV (1621-40), gold double souverain of 1647, second type. Obverse: crowned bust to right with small ruffed collar; reverse: crowned arms, Order of the Golden Fleece around. About extremely fine.)
This type is listed for Brabant, Flanders and Artois but is nowhere common. In 1637, the bust was revised to show a much smaller ruffed collar. The second specimen was lot 2340 in Sincona sale 83 (Zürich, May 2023), where it sold for 4,500 CHF (about US$6,022 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[2] noted, "BELGIUM Tournai, Herrschaft, Philipp IV. 1621-1665. 2 Souverain d'or 1647, Tournai. Selten, besonders in dieser Erhaltung (Rare, especially in this condition). NGC UNC Details. Auf dem Avers leicht bearbeitet (Minimally repaired on obverse)."
Recorded mintage: 16,000 for 1646-47.
Specification: 11.06 g, 0.919 fine gold; the first specimen is 11.01 g; the second specimen 11.13 g.
Catalog reference: Vanhoudt 637 TO. Vanhoudt/Saunders 534, G.H., 324-9b; Delm-447; Hoc, 481, Fr-396 (listed under Belgium), KM 55.
- 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 115: Collection Huntington, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2012.
- [2]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 83, World and Swiss Coins and Medals, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2023.
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