France 1789-L ecu
This specimen is an écu au buste habillé struck at the Bayonne mint, one of a type struck for France 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 1789-L is listed[1] as fairly common. The first specimen was part of lot 22532 in Heritage sale 3010 (Boston, August 2010), which sold for $747.50. The catalog description[2] noted, "A Quartet of Ecus, Four Ecus of three different kings, they are as follows: 1709B, 1768L, 1785 cow mintmark, 1789L. Average grade is XF. A most desirable grouping."
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: est. 1,700,000[1], 1,211,000[3].
Catalog reference: Dr/4 no. 883, Dr/2 no. 616, Dav-1333, KM 564.9, Dupl-1708; Ci-2187; Gad-356.
- [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.
- 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.
- [2]Tucker, Warren, Scott Cordry and John Kraljevich, Heritage Sale 3010: World Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2010.
- [3]Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
Link to:
- 1787-L écu au buste habillé
- 1789-M liard à l'écu
- 1789-R liard à l'écu
- 1789-W sol à l'écu
- 1789-A dixième d'écu au buste habillé
- 1789-A cinquième d'écu au buste habillé
- 1789-A demi-écu au buste habillé
- 1789-A écu au buste habillé
- 1789-AA écu au buste habillé
- 1789-K écu au buste habillé
- 1789-M écu au buste habillé
- 1789-R écu au buste habillé
- 1789-A louis d'or à la tête nue
- 1789-D louis d'or à la tête nue
- 1789-K double louis d'or à la tête nue
- 1789-W double louis d'or à la tête nue
- 1790-A écu au buste habillé
- Coins and currency dated 1789
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)