Have you ever gone into a coin store unprepared? No list of what you need to complete a series or which king or ruler you already have? Well it happened to me today.I spotted this Henri III Douzain (meaning dozen=12 deniers) basically the French 16th century version of a silver dollar.I couldn't remember,to save my life,if I already had a coin from this guy since there were a lot of Henris and Henrys running around at this time.So I took a chance and got it home only to discover that I did have a similar one of his.If it had been from the same mint (Paris) as my original one,I would have returned it but as it turns out,not only is it from the Toulouse mint but the two coins are from almost opposite ends of his 15 year reign...so I kept the damn thing:goofer:
Wow... nice coins. I want these two coins, too My oldest coin is a Half Dime 1853 with arrows.. and this one is in a very bad condition...
Mortyr..you can buy coins like these for a lot less than your 1/2 dime is worth.The one I bought today was $17. My half dime cost me a lot more than that!
Oh really? I found my half dime in a lot, but this coin is bent, so it is't so much worth (I hope you know what I mean). Here a picture of mine... but it's offtopic, isn't it :whistle:
Actually Mikjo0, these douzaines are categorised as billon coinage as opposed to silver. There's a Henri III silver Franc aka `livre d'argent' as in`silver pound' which is as close as you will get to the French equivalent of a dollar in terms of `silver dollar size' that is.....and a century or so before the US dollar was even a twinkle in the founding fathers' eyes. It is also high grade silver. I'm not sure of its specifics, but it's at least .83 or higher. It was introduced into circulation in 1576 but the first issue was dated 1575. There are numerous design variations (bust, location of date, minor legend differences etcetera). There are also half francs and quarter francs all using the common reverse. The `franc' continued to be produced into the reign of Louis XIII but by this time only as piedforts or essaies. The fractions (ie half and quarter) were however produced for circulation. They are pretty hard to find though. In a similar vein there were of course silver talers (dollars) minted in the various french provinces such as Alsace and Lorraine. I've got one of Strassbourg somewhere.... circa mid 1500's. I'll try to unearth it at some point. Here's a couple of examples of a Henri III franc of 1586 and 88 (Paris), a Henri IV half franc of 1596 (Aix en provence) and a Louis XIII quatre franc date uncertain (Toulouse).
Thanks Ian, What exactly is the makeup of the billion alloy.I've always wondered. Morty,That's actually a pretty nice half dime,especially the obverse..a keeper! Let's not forget that it's 153 years old.
Billon is a fairly loose term usually applied to coins made from silver debased with copper. The ratios of silver to copper vary tremendously dependent upon time and location. Some German states `billon' coinage is far more copper than anything else. In short, with regards to your douzaines.....I don't know what the actual ration of silver : copper is, but I would have thought 65% copper to 35% silver would not be too far off the mark. Afterthought: I decided to go look at Wikipedia to see what they say on the matter. Check it out: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billon
Thanks Ian. I have a few Roman coins,mostly double denari,that are made of billion but I never knew exactly what it was.
Some very nice coins on show there including the 1/2 Dime :smile Ian thanks for the info on billion :thumb: De Orc :kewl:
Billon is often applied to the copper-silver alloy that has 10% silver.It appears as an extremely black-grey colour.All Prussian (& other German states') Silbergroschen coins are of billon composition,not silver! Aidan.
