Verdun 1608 1/8 teston

Antan sale 23, lot 1155

Verdun in 1648

This specimen was lot 352 in Monnaies d'Antan auction 23 (Paris, May 2018), where it did not sell. The catalog description noted,

"Evêché de Verdun - Huitième de teston 1608, Eric de Lorraine (1593-1610) A/ + ERRIC A LOTH EPS ET CO VIR Buste à gauche. R/ MONET NO AN (millésime) Ecu couronné de Lorraine. TTB (bishopric of Verdun, Eric of Lorraine, 1593-1610, one-eighth teston of 1608. Obverse: bust left; reverse: crowned arms of Lorraine.)

Verdun, long a bishopric in the Empire, was coveted and finally seized by king Henry II of France in 1552. The bishops, scions of the house of Lorraine, were permitted to issue coins until the town was annexed to France by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. This type is noted as very rare in the SCWC.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: billon; this specimen is 0.91 g, 19 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: Bd.1718-Flon p.793,25, KM 5.

Source:

• Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.

Link to:

• Verdun 1608 teston
• Verdun 1612 teston
• Verdun (1617) teston
• Verdun (1617) thaler Dav-5912
• Coins and currency dated 1608
• return to French royal coinage (to 1793)