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1740-Q Billon Sous Marques. Vlack 171.

Currency:CAD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:300.00 CAD Estimated At:800.00 - 900.00 CAD
1740-Q Billon Sous Marques.  Vlack 171.

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.

Q – Perpignan Mint - 1740-Q Billon Sous Marques. Vlack 171. Rarity-7 (at least; Vlack lists as Rarity-6 which was a typographical error as he earlier stated that only six examples have been reported from Perpignan – for all dates combined!). Nearly Very Fine, about as sharp as the issues from this legendary mint can be found. On the obverse the legend is full save the BE at the bottom, the letters there weaker than the rest; the distinct Q mintmark can be made out, though there is no doubt of the mint since the distinct hat different is sharp at the top, as is the date. The reverse is stronger, the legend mostly bold, with just the X of REX missing due to some light roughness at that point. The Perpignan mint issues are well-known for their extreme rarity – and their crudity. The planchet is distinctly out of round and the coin appears to be a much higher proportion of copper than authorized – while there is ample silvering on either side, it has worn off in a streaky manner on the obverse, the underlying metal showing a pink coppery hue instead of the expected gray for a billon issue. The Perpignan Mint issues are usually the “stopper” for anyone completing a mint set – while a few more have turned up over the years than the six specimens Vlack was able to trace, they remain exceedingly rare, and are only seen when large collections are sold (and sometimes not even then, as the impressive Ford collection did not contain a single example from this mint!). The Vlack collection did have an example of this variety, the only one we have ever seen at auction; it was a nice VF coin that brought US $2,530, one of the highest prices in the entire sale and now resides in the finest collection of this series ever formed. The chance to procure a Perpignan mint Sous may not come again anytime soon.