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1721-Y [Bourges Mint] John Law 1/12 Silver Ecu, Gadoury 288.

Currency:CAD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:30.00 CAD Estimated At:75.00 - 100.00 CAD
1721-Y [Bourges Mint] John Law 1/12 Silver Ecu, Gadoury 288.
SOLD
30.00CAD+ buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2019 May 02 @ 19:31UTC-4 : AST/EDT

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.

1721-Y [Bourges Mint] John Law 1/12 Silver Ecu, Gadoury 288. Fine, probably closer to full VF in terms of wear, but weakly struck at the centers. The legends and date are full; two differents under the obverse bust and a third before the date on the reverse. Light silver with peripheral toning, minor marks from circulation. Late state of the reverse with several die breaks. Somewhat sloppily made dies with crooked lettering, the T in SIT notably lower, the mintmark and final E both double cut, and the stop after NOMEN actually touching the final letter. A scarce mint. This type was struck as a replacement for the silver 10 Sols which were coined 1719-20, but without any real reason other than John Law’s desire to have new coins with different denominations than before. The 1/12 Ecu weighs the same as the 10 Sols, and is of the same fineness silver – indeed, many of the 1/12 Ecus are struck over the earlier 10 Sols pieces, one way to get them out of circulation! Gadoury states all examples were recoined, but many were struck on new planchets, as is the case here. The 1/12 Ecu series was struck from 1720-1723, with the first and final years struck by only a few of the French mints, while 1721-2 saw most mints coining the denomination.