France 1561-C ecu d'or
This specimen was lot 1891 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €900 (about US$1,248 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE, Royaume, Charles IX (1560-1574), AV écu d'or au soleil, 1561 C (pointé), Saint-Lô. D/ Écu de France couronné, sous un soleil. R/ Croix fleurdelisée. Rare. Griffe au droit et coups sur la tranche. (kingdom of France, Charles IX, 1560-74, gold écu of the sunburst of 1561, Saint-Lô mint, inverted mintmark. Obverse: crowned arms of France under a sunburst; reverse: floriate cross. Rare, obverse scratch and rim nicks, about Extremely Fine.)"
This coin is called the écu d'or au soleil in Duplessy with a face value of fifty sols tournois and is noted with many variations in obverse and reverse legends. This specimen has a Roman numeral date. This type was the standard gold coin of France prior to the introduction of the milled louis d'or in 1641.
Recorded mintage: 5,247 for 1561-62, with three examples reported by Sombart[2].
Specification: 3.37 g, .958 fine gold, this specimen 3,35 g.
Catalog reference: Sb 4904, Fr-378, Dupl. 1057; Ci. 1343; Laf. 890.
- 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.
- [2]Sombart, Stéphan, Franciae IV: Catalogue des Monnaies Royales Françaises de François Ier à Henri IV (1540-1610), Paris: Éditions les Chevau-légers, 1997.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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