France 1792-R ecu

Stack's Bowers 2015 ANA sale, lot 30250

photo courtesy Stack's-Bowers LLC

This specimen was lot 30250 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2015), where it did not sell. The catalog description^[1] noted, "FRANCE. Ecu, 1792-R. Louis XVI (1774-90). NGC MS-62. Struck at the Orleans mint under assayer Charles-Pierre Delespine. Dividers privy mark. Finest known at the grading services by a 12-point margin. Wonderfully expressive portrait of Louis XVI with a solid strike bringing out nearly all of the detail. Some reverse adjustment marks noted, most prominently across the base of the easel. Attractive even color overall and fully original. It's hard to imagine a nicer example of the coin existing anywhere." This specimen is a "constitutional écu" struck at the Orléans mint, one of a type struck there 1792-93, prior to the trial and execution of the king. Its divisions were the ½, 1/4 and 1/8 écu, struck in billon. The écu was worth $1.10 in the USA before the Civil War. The 1792-A and 1793-A are the most available dates of this scarce type.

Recorded mintage: unknown but fairly common.

Specification: 29.45 g, 0.917 fine silver, 39 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: Dav-1335; KM-615.1; Gad-55.

Source:

Gadoury, Victor, Monnaies Françaises, 1789-2019, 24me éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2019.
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]Ponterio, Richard, The August 2015 Chicago ANA Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, Irvine, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2015.

Link to:

France 1792-R ecu

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