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1723-B [Rouen Mint] John Law Half Sol.

Currency:CAD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:80.00 CAD Estimated At:200.00 - 225.00 CAD
1723-B [Rouen Mint] John Law Half Sol.

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.

1723-B [Rouen Mint] John Law Half Sol. Fine, the obverse stronger than the reverse, though only a few letters are weak on the reverse, the rest strong for the grade, including the date and mintmark. The obverse bust is fully outlined, the shield on the reverse weaker. Medium brown, the surfaces with a light roughness from poor annealing, typical of the late Rouen issues. Interestingly, this mint struck the denomination in 1720, and then again in 1722 and 1723, but not in 1721 – which was the only year that it struck the copper 9 Deniers denomination (offered next in this sale). It seems likely that it struck fewer of that denomination than expected and had surplus copper planchets on hand which were then used for the Half Sols; the planchet quality between the 1721-B 9 Deniers and the Half Sols Rouen struck in 1722-3 is strikingly similar. Very rare, Smith noted just 4 of this date and mintmark in his survey of 255 examples of this denomination.