France 1572-B ecu d'or

Jean Elsen sale 127, lot 1328

This specimen was lot 1328 in Jean Elsen sale 127 (Brussels, December 2015), where it sold for €340 (about US$437 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"FRANCE, Royaume, Charles IX (1560-1574), AV écu d'or au soleil, 1572B, Rouen. D/ Ecu de France couronné, sous un soleil. R/ Croix fleurdelisée. Nettoyé. Traces de monture. Très Beau. (kingdom of France, Charles IX, 1560-74, gold écu d'or of the sunburst of 1572, Rouen mint. Obverse: crowned arms of France below a sunburst; reverse: floriate cross. Cleaned, trace of mounting, very fine.)"

This coin is called the écu d'or au soleil in Duplessy^[2] with a face value of fifty sols tournois and is noted with many variations in obverse and reverse legends. This is a scarce date, with four reported in Sombart's survey^[3].

Recorded mintage: 17,766^[3].

Specification: 3.37 g, 0.958 fine gold.

Catalog reference: Sb 4904, Fr-378, Duplessy-1057, Ci. 1343; Laf. 890.

Source:

• ^[2]Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
• Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
• ^[1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 127, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2015.
• ^[3]Sombart, Stéphan, Franciae IV: Catalogue des Monnaies Royales Françaises de François Ier à Henri IV (1540-1610), Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 1997.

Link to:

• 1571-K double sol parisis
• 1571-A écu d'or au soleil, Paris mint
• 1571-B écu d'or au soleil, Rouen mint
• 1572-A écu d'or au soleil
• 1577-E demi-franc
• 1573-M écu d'or au soleil, Toulouse mint
• Coins and currency dated 1572
• return to French royal coinage (to 1793)