Lowenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort 1649 denier tournois

Jean Elsen sale 162, lot 1485

This specimen was lot 1485 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €85 (about US$118 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"CUGNON, Ferdinand Charles de Löwenstein (1644-1672), Cu denier tournois, 1649. D/ B. à d. R/ Quatre lis dans le champ. (Cugnon, Ferdinand Charles of Löwenstein (1644-72), copper denier tournois of 1649. Obverse: bust right; reverse: four lilies in the field. Very Fine.)"

Cugnon is a village in Belgium in the province of Luxembourg. Being a border town, it would have been easy for its lord to strike unauthorized coinage imitating that of a larger neighbor, i.e., France. Louis XIII was at that time issuing large quantities of copper double tournois, which were imitated by many border lords, most notably Nevers-Rethel. Löwenstein-Wertheim proper is on the Tauber river near Wurzburg. The SCWC lists this type for 1649 and undated amid a surprising variety of types (KM 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29.1, 29.2, 30, 31, 32, 33). As these were tantamount to counterfeits, little effort was made to make them nice.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: copper, this specimen 1,00 g.

Catalog reference: KM 33 (listed under Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort), Weiller 15.

Sources:

• Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
• ^[1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.

Link to:

• Lowenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort 1633 2 tournois for Cugnon
• France 1649-A denier
• Coins and currency dated 1649