France 1777-L ecu

Jean Elsen list 265, lot 796

This specimen is an écu au buste habillé struck at the Bayonne mint, one of a type struck there 1775-91. Its divisions were the ½, 1/5, 1/10 and 1/20 écu, struck in modest quantities. The écu was worth $1.10 in the USA before the Civil War. The écu au buste habillé is the most popular coin of Louis XVI among collectors. The 1777-L is listed^[2] about 20% higher than the most common date (1789-A) but it is a common mint for 1777. This specimen was lot 796 in Jean Elsen list 265 (Brussels, July-September 2013) where it was offered for €150 (about US$198). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"FRANCE, Royaume, Louis XVI (1774-1793), AR écu aux rameaux d'olivier, 1777 L, Bayonne. Droit: B. habillé à gauche, les cheveux noués par un ruban. Revers: Ecu de France couronné, entre deux rameaux d'olivier. Belle patine. Très Beau à Superbe. (kingdom of France, Louis XVI (1774-93), silver ecu of the olive branch of 1777, Bayonne mint. Obverse: uniformed bust to left, hair tied in a ribbon; reverse: crowned arms of France between two olive branches. Nice patina, very fine to extremely fine.)"

Specification:

Obverse: LUD.XVI.D.G.FR ET NAV. REX. (for Pau, NA.RE. BD), king’s uniformed bust left, hair tied with a ribbon;
reverse: SIT NOMEN DOMINI BENEDICTUM (date), oval shield of France, crowned, between two olive branches tied with ribbon, mintmark below; edge lettered DOMINE SALVUM FAC REGEM.
composition: silver, 11 deniers (.917 fine), 8.3 pieces to the mark (29.488 g), face value 6 livres, 39 mm diameter. Engraved by Benjamin Duvivier. This specimen is 29.13 g.

Recorded mintage: 943,553^[2].

Catalog reference: Dav-1333, Dr/4 no. 883, Dr/2 no. 616, KM 564.1, Dupl-1708; Ci-2187; Gad-356.

Sources:

^[2]Droulers, Frédéric, Répertoire General des Monnaies de Louis XIII à Louis XVI (1610-1792), 2nd édition. Paris: AFPN, 1998.
Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Royales Françaises, 1610-1792, 4me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2012.
Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
^[1]Philippe Elsen et al., Liste 265, Juillet-Septembre 2013, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S. A., 2013.

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France 1777-L ecu

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