Verdun 1612 teston
This specimen was lot 356 in a cgb internet auction (Paris, December 2014), where it sold for €1,900 (about US$2,341). The catalog description noted,
"VERDUN - BISHOPRIC OF VERDUN - Teston, 1612, Rarity R3. Obverse:.CAROLVS. A. LOTHARINGIA. EPISCOPVS (Charles de Lorraine, évêque), Buste à droite de Charles de Lorraine-Chaligny revêtu du camail. Reverse: ET. COMES. VIR. PRS. SRI. IMPERII (Monnaie nouvelle de l'année 1612), Écu à multiples quartiers brisé d'un lambel à trois pendants, sous une couronne ouverte coupant la légende en haut et traversée d'une crosse épiscopale et d'une mitre. (bishopric of Verdun, Charles of Lorraine, 1611-22, teston of 1612. Obverse: bust right; reverse: crowned arms of Lorraine, crozier and miter behind.)
Verdun, long a bishopric in the Empire, was coveted and finally seized by king Henry II of France in 1552. The bishops, scions of the house of Lorraine, were permitted to issue coins until the town was annexed to France by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. This type is noted as very rare in the SCWC.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, 8.38 g; this specimen is 7,37 g, 29,5 mm diameter, axis 6 h.
Catalog reference: Bd.1720 (60 f.) - Flon.II, n° 13 p. 801, KM 20 (unlisted date).
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
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