France 1578-D franc
This specimen was lot 74645 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $192. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRANCE. Franc, 1578-D. Lyon Mint. Henry III. PCGS VF-30. From the Richard August Collection." This franc d'argent had a face value of 20 sols tournois and was struck 1575-86. The subtype with the flat collar (shown here) is Dupl-1130: the one with the ruffed collar is Dupl-1130A. Twenty examples of the 1578-D are reported by Sombart, making this the most common date. Altho demi-francs were included in the mintage figure, Sombart says no 1578-D demi-francs are known.
Recorded mintage: 351,624 including some demi-francs[2].
Specification: 14.18 g, 0.833 fine silver.
Catalog reference: Sb 4714, Dup-1130; Gad-496.
- Duplessy, Jean, Les Monnaies Françaises Royales de Hugues Capet à Louis XVI (987-1793), Tome II, 2e édition, Paris: Maison Platt, 1999.
- Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
- [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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, September 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, including Selections from the Richard Margolis Collection and Selections from the L.E. Bruun Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
Link to:
- 1576-B franc au col plat
- 1576-F franc au col plat
- 1576-T franc au col plat
- 1578-A quart d'écu
- 1578-A franc au col plat
- 1578-G franc au col plat
- 1578-P franc au col plat
- 1578-T franc au col plat
- Navarre 1578 franc
- 1578-E écu d'or au soleil, Tours mint
- 1578-F écu d'or au soleil, Angers mint
- 1578-H écu d'or au soleil
- 1578-K écu d'or au soleil
- 1578-M écu d'or au soleil, Toulouse mint
- 1578-P écu d'or au soleil
- 1578-T écu d'or au soleil
- 1582-G franc au col plat
- Coins and currency dated 1578
- return to French royal coinage (to 1793)