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1693-“Dot in Circle” [Pau Mint] Sol de 15 Deniers de France-Navarre-Bearn, Gadoury 94.

Currency:CAD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:125.00 CAD Estimated At:300.00 - 400.00 CAD
1693-“Dot in Circle” [Pau Mint] Sol de 15 Deniers de France-Navarre-Bearn, Gadoury 94.

Buyer’s Premiums will be added on all items as per the Terms & Conditions of the sale. Invoices will be emailed out after The Toronto Coin Expo.

1693-“Dot in Circle” [Pau Mint] Sol de 15 Deniers de France-Navarre-Bearn, Gadoury 94. Very Good or so, struck on a virgin planchet. The grade is almost irrelevant on this extremely rare type, given a separate number in Gadoury and all the other earlier references because the Pau Mint design was different from the other mints. The others have a shield on the obverse with three large fleur-de-lys, while the Pau mint pieces have the shield divided into three parts, the left half has three smaller fleur-de-lys, the upper right half with a shield and the lower right half with a pair of cows (which later became the mintmark of the Pau mint). These are easily recognizable even in low grades – which is a good thing, because their grade is almost invariably low. This type was struck 1692-1700, but Gadoury gives no mintage figures for the first three years, and save for a single year that had a 133,701 struck, the mintages were exceedingly low – the final year with all of 692 examples coined! The Pau mint is invariably one of the rarities in any of the French Colonies series, and is legendary among specialists; while its location very close to the Spanish border put it well away from the other French mints, the area was not by any means a backwater – King Henri IV was born there, and it is known for wonderful views of the Pyrenees. This type was priced higher in earlier versions of Gadoury than in the current one, and we disagree with the assessment in the new version. This has always been an extremely rare issue, one that is almost never offered for sale. It is also an issue that the collector cannot afford to be too picky on in terms of grade. If one is offered, buy it – it will likely be many years before another is found!