France 1582-9 1/4 ecu

Goldberg sale 128, lot 1736

This specimen was lot 1736 in Goldberg sale 128 (Los Angeles, June 2022), where it sold for $84. The catalog description^[1] noted, "France. ¼ Ecu, 1582 (9) Rennes. Henri III, 1574-1589. Crowned shield. Reverse: Cross. NGC graded EF-40." This type was struck by the hammer at numerous mints 1578-91. Crudely made, they are very scarce in choice condition. Most mints, including Rennes, placed the king's titles on the cross side but a few put them on the shield side (Sb 4666). Sombart^[2] reports seventeen known in his survey, making this a common date but not as common as the enormous mintage would lead one to suppose. It had a face value of fifteen sols tournois.

Recorded mintage: 1,976,135^[2].

Specification: 9.71 g, .917 fine silver, plain edge, 27-29 mm diameter, this specimen 9.57 g.

Catalog reference: Sb 4662, Dupl-1133.

Source:

• Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
• Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
• ^[2]Sombart, Stéphan, Franciae IV: Catalogue des Monnaies Royales Françaises de François Ier à Henri IV (1540-1610), Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 1997.
• ^[1]Goldberg, Ira, Larry Goldberg, John Lavender, Jason Villareal and Stephen Harvey, Goldberg Sale 128: the Pre-Long Beach Auction, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, 2022.

Links to:

• 1580-H quart d'écu
• 1582-S double sol parisis
• 1582-G franc au col plat
• 1582-M franc au col fraisé
• 1584-F quart d'écu
• Coins and currency dated 1582
• return to French royal coinage (to 1793)