France 1763-R ecu

Goldberg sale 78, lot 3004

photo courtesy Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

This specimen is an écu au bandeau of Louis XV struck in 1763 at the Orléans mint. The long reign of Louis XV (1715-74) saw many coin types come and go. The first part of the reign, while Louis was a child, was a period of monetary confusion and manipulation. The reforms of Cardinal Fleury (1726) stabilized the fiscal situation until the total collapse at the eve of the Revolution. Numismatically, this period can be divided into three epochs, marked by the écu aux branches d’olivier (1726-40), the écu au bandeau (1740-72) and the écu à la vielle tête (1770-74). This specimen was lot 3004 in Goldberg sale 78 (Los Angeles, January 2014), where it sold for $141. The catalog description^[1] noted, "France. Ecu au bandeau, 1763-R. Louis XV. Lightly cleaned. Very Fine."

Recorded mintage: 935,410 (a common date).

Specification:

Obverse: LUD.XV.D.G.FR ET NAV. REX. (for Pau, NA.RE. BD), king’s head 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 Joseph-Charles Röettiers.

Catalog reference: Dav-1331, Dr/4 № 820, Dr/2 № 584, KM 512.18, Gad-322.

Sources:

Alhéritière, Edouard, and Ludovic Deswelle, "Les écus de Louis XV de bandeau: point de situation," Numismatique et Change, No. 349 [Mai 2004], pp. 61-63.
George Sobin, Jr., The Silver Crowns of France, 1640-1973. Teaneck, NJ: Richard Margolis, 1974.
Clairand, Armand, Monnaies de Louis XV, Le temps de la Stabilité Monetaire, 1726-1774, Paris: Maison Platt, 1996.
Droulers, Frédéric, Répertoire General des Monnaies de Louis XIII à Louis XVI (1610-1792), 4e édition. Paris: AFPN, 2009.
Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
^[1]Goldberg, Ira, Larry Goldberg, Yifu Che and Stephen Harvey, Goldberg sale 78: the pre-Long Beach Auction, Ancient and World Coins, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, 2014.

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France 1763-R ecu

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