France 1586-T 1/4 ecu

from the Stack's Bowers 2022 Collector's Choice sale, lot 73604

This specimen was lot 73604 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2022), where it sold for $288. The catalog description^[1] noted, "FRANCE. 1/4 Ecu, 1586-T. Nantes Mint. Henry III. NGC AU-55. A well detailed and richly toned coin, struck slightly off-center on a crude flan. The peripheral legends, however, are bold and fully readable." Sombart reports twelve examples in his survey^[2], making this a common date. Some mints put the king's titles on the shield side but most, including Nantes, put the king's titles on the cross side.

Recorded mintage: 297,788, including a few huitiemes d'écu.

Specification: 9.71 g, 0.917 fine silver.

Catalog reference: Dupl-1133, Ciani-1438; Roberts-3252, Sb 4662.

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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The February 2022 World Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancients & World Coins, Featuring Selections from the Kings Norton Mint Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.

Link to:

• 1584-F quart d'écu
• 1586-H double tournois
• 1586-9 quart d'écu, croix de face
• 1586-M franc avec fraise
• 1587-C quart d'écu
• 1587-G quart d'écu au marteau
• 1587-M quart d'écu au marteau
• Coins and currency dated 1586
• return to French royal coinage (to 1793)