Tournai 1656 souverain d'or Fr-397
This specimen was lot 826 in Jean Elsen sale 158 (Brussels, March 2024), where it sold for €2,200 (about US$2,861 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"TOURNAI, Seigneurie, Philippe IV (1621-1665), AV souverain (lion d'or), 1656. D/ Lion deb. à g., couronné, brandissant une épée, la patte posée sur un globe placé sur un socle. R/ Ecu couronné, entouré du collier de la Toison d'or. Rare. Légère faiblesse de frappe. Très Beau à Superbe. (lordship of Tournai, Philip IV, 1621-65, gold souverain of 1656. Obverse: crowned lion rampant left, brandishing a sword, the other paw supporting a globe on a pedestal; reverse: crowned arms, order chain around. Rare, weakly struck, Very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"
This type was struck 1633-34, 1641, 1644-45, 1648-65. Similar lions d'or were made in Flanders (Fr-227) and Brabant (Fr-107 & -108). The tower mintmark denotes this as a Tournai issue.
Reported Mintage: unknown.
Specification: 5.54 g, 0.919 fine gold, this specimen 5,42 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-397, KM 51, G.H. 325-9; Delm-448; Hoc 492; VH 638.
- 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.
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