Avignon 1639 1/2 franc
This specimen was lot 1847 in Künker sale 263 (Osnabrück, June 2015), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted,
"KIRCHENSTAAT/VATIKAN Urban VIII. 1623-1644. 1/2 Franco 1637 oder 1639 (Jahreszahl nicht lesbar), Avignon. RR Sehr schön. (Papal States, Urban VIII, 1623-44, half franco of 1637 or 1639 (illegible last digit), Avignon mint. Rare, very fine.)"
The SCWC lists this scarce type for 1636-40. Avignon was a Papal enclave in the south of France and was annexed by the French during the Revolution. The French demi-franc of Louis XIII was 7.09 g, 0.833 fine silver, 27-29 mm diameter, so we presume this coin was struck to the same standard.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Muntoni 214/215. KM 57, Ber-1793.
- Berman, Allen G., Papal Coins, South Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1991.
- Francesco Muntoni, Le Monete del Papi e Degli Stati Pontifici, 4 vols. Rome: P & P Santamaria, 1973.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 263, The Friedrich Popken collection of gold and silver coinages | Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. the collection of Ernst Otto Horn, part III, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2015.
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