France 1561-C ecu d'or

Jean Elsen sale 162, lot 1891

This specimen was lot 1891 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €900 (about US$1,248 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"FRANCE, Royaume, Charles IX (1560-1574), AV écu d'or au soleil, 1561 C (pointé), Saint-Lô. D/ Écu de France couronné, sous un soleil. R/ Croix fleurdelisée. Rare. Griffe au droit et coups sur la tranche. (kingdom of France, Charles IX, 1560-74, gold écu of the sunburst of 1561, Saint-Lô mint, inverted mintmark. Obverse: crowned arms of France under a sunburst; reverse: floriate cross. Rare, obverse scratch and rim nicks, about Extremely Fine.)"

This coin is called the écu d'or au soleil in Duplessy with a face value of fifty sols tournois and is noted with many variations in obverse and reverse legends. This specimen has a Roman numeral date. This type was the standard gold coin of France prior to the introduction of the milled louis d'or in 1641.

Recorded mintage: 5,247 for 1561-62, with three examples reported by Sombart^[2].

Specification: 3.37 g, 0.958 fine gold, this specimen 3,35 g.

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

Sources:

• 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.
• ^[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]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.

Link to:

• 1561-M demi-teston
• 1561-L teston
• 1561-M teston
• 1561-Z teston du Dauphiné
• 1561-B henri d'or
• 1562-A écu d'or au soleil
• 1562-D écu d'or au soleil
• 1562-K écu d'or au soleil
• 1562-N écu d'or au soleil
• 1562-9 écu d'or au soleil
• Coins and currency dated 1561
• return to French royal coinage (to 1793)