LOT   /  Toronto Coin Expo Spring Sale 2019  / 

37

1640 countermark on a 1589-Q [Narbonne Mint] Henri III Douzain aux Deux H, 1st type, Ciani 1450, Dup

Currency:CAD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:150.00 CAD Estimated At:400.00 - 500.00 CAD
1640 countermark on a 1589-Q [Narbonne Mint] Henri III Douzain aux Deux H, 1st type, Ciani 1450, Dup
SOLD
150.00CAD+ buyer's premium (30.00)
This item SOLD at 2019 May 02 @ 18:11UTC-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.

Host Coin of Henri III (ruled 1574-1589), Vlack 1i Type - 1640 countermark on a 1589-Q [Narbonne Mint] Henri III Douzain aux Deux H, 1st type, Ciani 1450, Duplessy 1140, Sombart 4398, but an UNLISTED DATE FOR THIS MINT. Very Fine, well struck, the legends mostly full on either side, and with good design detail, the countermark on the reverse quite bold, and the date quite sharp, leaving no doubt as to it being unlisted. There is a large star after the date, which was the mintmark for the Chambery Mint – but that was only used 1543-1552 and 1600-01, so a misplaced mintmark is not the explanation. While the host coin looks regal at first glance (the right size, color and detail), it is possible that it is instead a contemporary counterfeit. The legend is somewhat sloppy, the E’s looking like very thick I’s, many letters double-punched or out of alignment with their neighbors and the final digit of the date looks as if it was originally an zero, with a large tail added by hand to the die! While this would normally condemn a piece to be counterfeit, it must be noted that some of these smaller mints did not have good artisans working at making dies. Narbonne struck (or reported) very small numbers of this type in 1587, 1588, 1591, 1593 and 1594, so the existence of a 1589-dated regal issue is certainly not improbable – and indeed, a similarly crude piece of this date and mint (though from different dies and without a 1640 countermark) was offered in Laurent Fabre’s 5th sale, there called unique, and which realized nearly 500 Euros. Given the existence of that piece it is thus likely this is a genuine coin, of an unlisted date, and one of extreme rarity (the reported mintage for the 1591 issue, for instance, was just 1,045 coins!), and it is almost certainly unique with a 1640 countermark. Needless to say, an opportunity that will not soon be repeated!
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