France 1791-A ecu

Ponterio sale 169, lot 10225

This specimen was lot 10211 in Ponterio sale 169 (Baltimore, November 2012), where it sold for $1,292. The catalog description^[2] noted, "FRANCE. Ecu, 1791-A. NGC MS-63. Louis XVI (1774-92). Heron mint mark. None of the usual adjustment marks, toned and very attractive. Demarete Collection." This specimen is an écu au buste habillé struck at the Paris mint, one of a type struck there 1775-92. 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 1791-A is listed^[1] as a better date.

Specifications for the Écu au bandeau:

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.

Recorded mintage: 1,756,156^[1].

Catalog reference: Dr/4 no. 883, Dr/2 no. 616, Dav-1333, KM 564.1, Gad-356; Dup-1708; DFW-540.

Sources:

^[1]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.
Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
^[2]Ponterio, Richard, Ponterio sale 169: The November 2012 Baltimore Auction, Irvine, CA: Stack's Bowers, LLC, 2012.

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France 1791-A ecu

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