France 1553-C 2 henri d'or
This specimen was lot 458 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €26,000 (about US$33,730 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANKREICH, KÖNIGREICH, Henri II, 1547-1559. Double henri d'or 1553, C, Saint Lô. HENRICVS · II · D · G · FRAN · REX Geharnischte Büste r.//* DVM · TOTVM · COMPLEAT · ORBEM 1553 Kreuz aus gekrönten Hs, in den Winkeln abwechselnd Lilie und Halbmond, im Zentrum das Münzstättenzeichen. GOLD. Sehr selten, besonders in dieser Erhaltung. Sehr attraktives Exemplar mit hervorragendem Portrait, sehr schön-vorzüglich. Mit altem Unterlegzettel. (kingdom of France, Henry II, 1547-59, gold double henry of 1553, Saint Lô mint. Obverse: armored bust right; reverse: cross of four crowned "H's", lilies and crescents in the quarters, mintmark in the center. Very rare, especially in this quality. Very attractive example with a nice portrait, very fine to extremely fine. With old collector's tag.)"
This type was struck at Saint Lô for Henry II 1551-61. It had a face value of one hundred sols tournois or five livres tournois. It is the first type, with a bare head (not laureate) and lilies and crescents on the reverse. Sombart reports one known of this date, which may be this example, and nine for this mint.
Recorded mintage: 1,800 including the henri d'or and demi-henri d'or.
Specification: 7.30 g, 0.958 fine gold, this specimen 6.54 g.
Catalog reference: Sb-4974, Duplessy 971; Fr-367.
- Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Sombart, Stéphan, Franciae IV: Catalogue des Monnaies Royales Françaises de François Ier à Henri IV (1540-1610), Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 1997.
[1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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