France 1757-Pau ecu

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This specimen of the écu au bandeau is from the Pau mint. Pau, high up in the Pyrenees, was a backwoods town but in this period was becoming an important stop in the French-Spanish trade. Many Spanish and Spanish American coins disappeared into the mint's furnaces, to be reborn as French écus au bandeau, hence this mintmark is common.

Recorded mintage: 405,045 (better than common but not rare).

Specification:

• Obverse: LUD.XV.D.G.FR ET NA.RE. BD, king’s head left, hair tied with a ribbon;
• reverse: SIT NOMEN DOMINI BENEDICTUM (date), oval shield of France, crowned, between two olive branches tied with ribbon, mintmark below; edge lettered DOMINE SALVUM FAC REGEM.
• composition: silver, 11 deniers (.917 fine), 8.3 pieces to the mark (29.488 g), face value 6 livres, 39 mm diameter. Engraved by Joseph-Charles Röettiers.

Catalog reference: Dr/4 no. 820a, Dr/2 no. 584a, KM 518, Dav-A1331.

Sources:

• Alhéritière, Edouard, and Ludovic Deswelle, "Les écus de Louis XV de bandeau: point de situation," Numismatique et Change, No. 349 [Mai 2004], pp. 61-63.
• Clairand, Armand, Monnaies de Louis XV, Le temps de la Stabilité Monetaire, 1726-1774, Paris: Maison Platt, 1996.
• Droulers, Frédéric, Répertoire General des Monnaies de Louis XIII à Louis XVI (1610-1792), 4e édition. Paris: AFPN, 2009.
• Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
• Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
• Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.

Link to:

• 1756-R écu au bandeau
• 1756 écu au bandeau du Béarn
• 1757-A double sol aux 2 L couronnés
• 1757-L demi-écu au bandeau
• 1757-L double louis d'or au bandeau
• 1757-Pau double louis d'or au bandeau du Béarn
• 1759-R écu au bandeau
• Coins and currency dated 1757
• return to French royal coinage (to 1793)