It appears to be a 1/2-ecu of Louis XIII. The rough surfaces overall and graffiti scratches on the reverse will knock its value down considerably, I'm afraid. But it would have been a $60-ish coin in VG otherwise. As is? $20-25-ish, would be my merely semi-educated guesstimate.
I love old World coins like this (especially European). I often value them higher on sentimental "coolness factor" than in dollars and cents, though some can also have some monetary value as well. I like stuff with some history to it. Either interesting history for the older stuff, or high artistry and beauty with the more modern stuff. The coins that have both history and beauty are my favorite of all.
In my more poverty-stricken days, I made my bones by cherrypicking bulk lots of World coins and selling or swapping the better finds, gradually trading up over the years to build my own collection. It was great fun and quite educational. I bought some wonderful lots at 10 cents or less per coin, and stuff like the coin above were the sort of better finds I would occasionally make (though bulk lots do tend to have very little in the way of silver).
While I'm globe trotting, I'm trying to get good pics of German gold. I read European history second only to Internal Revenue Code (and regulations).
I should add that I believe this was the 1st type of "modern series" French coin made. The 1st ecus and minors were struck at the tail end of Louis 13th's reign. These were in 1642 and 1643 I recall. While not expensive in this grade, it's a very uncommon and historical piece. Undoubtedly why your ancestor or whoever saved it.
I was always fond of the French designs from the 1300's on and had many of them. One of my favorites were the Louis 14th child designs as he was only 5 when he became King in 1643. This is a 1/2 ecu of his that I used to own -
Ahhh, if only it were possible But, as pretty much everybody knows - they didn't have dates back then.
Well, Kunker just sent me a book: The Early Dated Coins of Europe 1234-1500, 2nd edition, 2007,2019. Appears well-written & with many color images! To also add I too USED TO HAVE a French demi-ecu (half-ecu) of early Louis XIV {1647 Paris mint I recall}. Bought as high end EXF, Jim Elmond: WorldWide, and sold when I sold my French collection. It got slabbed as an MS-61. Can't find photos of it now.
I enjoy French coins, especially the Franc coins from 1960-2001 reminds me of Walking Liberty Halves.
According to Gadoury, there are five variants of the Louis XIII 1643 half ecu, all minted in Paris (mintmark A, at 6 o'clock on the reverse.) The variants are distinguished by a mark at the 12 o'clock position, between the 3 of the date and the S of SIT. They are: with a rose - R1 with a rose between two dots - R2 with a rose, with a small bust - R4 with no dot and no rose - R2 with a dot - C R1 is Rarety level 1, more than 10,000 coins, R2 means 1000 to 10,000 coins while R4 indicates that between 76 and 199 coins are known to exist. C stands for Common, an innumerable number of coins, such as this one, I'm sorry to say
@Bardolph , those rarity scale/index figures seem very off to me but that doesn't mean anything. IMO, there's absolutely no way that there are these sorts of numbers in existence of this GAD 50 "common" (point) or any Ecu of this time frame! I'm very active in this and know how uncommon this date is regardless of type. The Canadian Charlton catalogue (2015) (French Regime type) lists the "cheapest" type in VG for $300. Someone's wrong here (You, Gadoury, or I). You are spot on as far as your attribution and that's nice to see as a fellow collector. Serge Pelletier: "The coins are presented by reign, from the smallest denomination to the largest. A list of all mint marks is at the beginning of each reign. One of the biggest changes introduced in this edition has been the discard of mintage figures that have been deemed inconsequential since many of the pieces struck by these kings were later reformed. A rarity scale has thus taken their place: C (common), R (101-500 known), R2 (51-100), R3 (11-50), R4 (5-10), and R5 (less than 5 known)."
