Hainaut 1584 1/5 ecu
This specimen was lot 1258 in Jean Elsen sale 160 (Brussels, November 2024), where it sold for €220 (about US$279 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"HAINAUT, Comté, Philippe II (1555-1598), AR cinquième d'écu Philippe, 1584, Mons. D/ B. cuir. à g. R/ Ecu couronné sur une croix de Bourgogne, entre deux briquets. Très rare. Très Beau. Provient de Schulman, Amsterdam, 1965. (county of Hainaut, Philip II, 1555-98, silver fifth écu Philippe of 1584, Mons mint.. Obverse: armored bust left; reverse: crowned arms over a Burgundian cross between two firesteels. Very rare, very fine.)"
This type represents a very early experiment with decimal coinage, over a century before Russia adopted her hundred kopeks = one ruble. Twentieth, tenth and fifth écus were minted in Artois, Brabant, Flanders, Hainaut and Tournai. Tournai seems to have been the largest issuer of of this denomination. Numista lists a liard, 1/20 écu and half écu from Hainaut for 1584 but not the fifth écu, which it lists for 1581-82.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 6.80 g, 0.833 fine silver, this specimen is 6,08 g.
Catalog reference: G.H. 212-10a; Chalon 183; Lucas, Hainaut, 202; VH 304.
- van Gelder, H. Enno, and Marcel Hoc, Les Monnaies des pays-Bas Bourguignons et Espagnols, 1434-1713, Amsterdam, J. Schulman, 1960, with supplement of 1964.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 160, Collection de deniers liegeois et Collection de monnaies d'or francaises, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2024.
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