Besancon 1541 gros

Jean Elsen sale 154, lot 1835

the Franche Comte in 1648

This specimen was lot 1835 in Jean Elsen sale 154 (Brussels, March 2023), where it sold for €1,100 (about US$1,424 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"FRANCE, BESANCON, Ville impériale, AR gros, 1541. D/ B. cour. et cuir. de Charles Quint à g., ten. le gl. cr. et son épée sur l'épaule. En dessous, CAROLVS V/ IMPERA/TOR en trois lignes. R/ + BISVNTINA: CIVITAS: 1541: Aigle impériale éployée avec l'écu de la ville sur sa poitrine. Très rare. Fine fêlure du flan. presque Très Beau. (France, free city of Besançon, silver groat of 1541. Obverse: crowned and armored bust of Charles V to left, holding a sword and a orb, his title in the exergue; reverse: imperial eagle displayed with the arms of the city on its breast. Very rare, minor planchet crack, about Very Fine.)"

Altho Franche Comte is today a region of France to the east of Burgundy, in the sixteenth century it was firmly part of the Holy Roman Empire and was ruled by the Spanish branch of the Hapsburgs in the person of Philip II. Long coveted by the French kings, the county finally fell to Louis XIV in the late 1670's and incorporated into the royal domain. Besançon, the capital, became the site of a French mint (mintmark "CC"). Roberts comments, "One of the oddest portrait series within the boundaries of modern France is that of Besancon, the principal town of the Franche-Comte. In 1534, the emperor Charles V granted the town...rights to issue coinage...on condition that every coin must bear the date of issue, the coat of arms, and the portrait of himself, Charles V. Thus, his image graces all issues, large and small, for 140 years, until the town was conquered by the forces of Louis XIV in 1674."

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver, this specimen 1,82 g.

Catalog reference: C.C.K. M14/1541.

Source:

• Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
• ^[1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 154, Trouvaille de Labuissière, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2023.

Link to:

• (1538) double thaler
• Besancon 1541 carolus
• 1543 carolus
• 1549 demi-carolus
• Coins and currency dated 1541