I've been looking for the exact value of this Louis XIII coin for a little while on Google, I've seen some varying prices on French Louis XIII coins of this era, but nothing matching exactly this coin. Any idea what its worth? I also have a Ferdin VII coin which I can't a whole lot on either at least this one, any idea what it's value is? Thanks in advance
Hi Scimachy, and welcome to the forum. I'm afraid the only time an exact value for a rare coin can be stated is at the precise moment of its sale by a willing seller to a willing buyer, with both parties in possesion of all relevant facts. That said, the values of Louis XIII Double Tournois listed in the 1999 2nd Ed. Standard Catalog of World Coins, 17th Century, range from a low of $5 for certain years and mints in VG condition, to a high of $450 for 1633 or 1638-43 St. Palais Mint pieces in XF condition. It is impossible to determine the condition, date or mint mark without higher resolution and lighter pictures than the ones you have posted. The few coins I have checked in my 2nd Ed. and a friend's later 3rd Ed. had substantially similar values, so the $5-450 range for retail prices is probably accurate. The Spanish coin is neither particularly rare, nor in a very high condition, and wouldn't catalog at very much.
The coin depicting King Ferdinand VII of Spain is actually from Mexico.The clue is in the mintmark,which is an M with an O above it.This is the mintmark of the Mexico City mint. Aidan.
I believe the dbl tournois is a 1640, mint best as I can tell is K, Bordeaux or R, Orleans. The engraver was Valence. Value is about $10 - $15. The Mexico 1 reale coin I believe is a counterfeit.
Roy,the Mexico City mint never struck coins for Spain.However,the Mexico City mint did strike 1 Rupee coins for India around 1997,as I have got one of these. That is a very unusually clear date for the Double Tournois,as they usually turn up very worn.Did you know that 'Double Tournois' is the source for 2 British Commonwealth denominations? The Double (pronounced 'dooble') was a coin from Guernsey,& the nickname 'Turner' comes from 'Tournois'.This was a Scots 2d. coin (also called a Bodle), which was very similar in design to the Double Tournois.The Double Tournois was also issued by various French states,such as Dombes.I have got a Dombes Double Tournois, which has a distinctive mark on the reverse,& it was issued by a ruler named Gaston. Aidan.
Doh !! I gotta brush up on my early royal copper The mint mark is La Rochelle. Other info was correct.
If you're interested in early French copper or bronze coinages, you should get hold of `Copper Coins of France' by O.P. Eklund. It's a 32 page booklet printed in 1962. It also covers the copper coinages of the feudal states such as Bouillon et Sedan, Burgundy, Chateau Renaud, Cugnon, Dombes, Lorraine, Montbelliard, Nevers et Rethel,....oh yes, and Orange (should be right up your street!). It's good for an `all in one place' reference. I t has no pricing guide however, and if it did, due to its age it would be well out of date Sadly, I don't have any faith in the catalogue prices given in Krause for these pieces. My first edition 1600's saw their prices being overstated sometimes by as much a factor of 10 (ie a $5 coin being stated as $50).
It is a Mexico HALF Real coin. I suggest you check lots 762 & 763 at www.aureo.com. There you will see that ! real coins have 1R, while 1/2 reales only have an R So not ONE but only half, and it is really as Satootoko said no big deal. Worth about 20 to 30 euros, still interesting enough. Aidan Work was right about Mexico not minting for Spain, specially in that year of 1809. We were having our own war of independence from the French, with a King prisioner in France and José Napoleón (Brother of Napoleón Bonaparte) ruling or trying to. Spain was struggling for its own independence and the the colonies were about to start their own one in 1810. The Virreinato de México colonies still didn´t have the right picture of the king, so to make him look strong they depicted an imaginary bust with an armour! That did not last long, by 1811 and with an independence war going on in Mexico and all the way down to Patagonia, all over the Americas ("las Indias"), they showed a drapped bust of the king. The letters T.H. are the assayers initials; I don`t remember the "T", probably Tomás Something, but the "H" is for Henrique Buenaventura. So the coin is not much itself, but tells some history. And it looks authentic to me. Enjoy it. Pablo
