France 1557-M teston

Stack's Bowers October 2025 Collectors Choice sale, lot 74642

This specimen was lot 74642 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $288. The catalog description^[1] noted, "FRANCE. Teston, 1557-M. Toulouse Mint. Henry II. PCGS AU-50. From the Richard August Collection." This type struck 1551-61 with nine examples of the 1557-M reported by Sombart. Toulouse is the most common mint.

Recorded mintage: 86,521, including some demi-testons^[2].

Specification: 9.59 g, 0.899 fine silver.

Catalog reference: Sb 4572, Dupl-983; Ciani-1266.

Sources:

• 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, September 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, including Selections from the Richard Margolis Collection and Selections from the L.E. Bruun Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.

Link to:

• 1556-D teston à la tête nue
• 1556-M teston
• 1557-T douzain aux croissants
• 1557-C demi-teston, Henri II
• 1557-M demi-teston, Henri II
• 1557-N henri d'or
• 1557-B double henri d'or
• 1559-K teston
• Coins and currency dated 1557
• return to French royal coinage (to 1793)