Just won this in a Canadian auction. I have wanted a piece of French hammered gold for a while and I really liked the look of this one. Now the waiting begins. From Wikipedia: Francis I (French: François Ier) (12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was the first King of France from the Angoulême branch of the House of Valois, reigning from 1515 until his death. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his cousin and father-in-law Louis XII, who died without a son. A prodigious patron of the arts, he initiated the French Renaissance by attracting many Italian artists to work on the Château de Chambord, including Leonardo da Vinci, who brought the Mona Lisa with him, which Francis had acquired. Francis' reign saw important cultural changes with the rise of absolute monarchy in France, the spread of humanism and Protestantism, and the beginning of French exploration of the New World. Jacques Cartierand others claimed lands in the Americas for France and paved the way for the expansion of the first French colonial empire. For his role in the development and promotion of a standardized French language, he became known as le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres (the "Father and Restorer of Letters").[1] He was also known as François du Grand Nez ("Francis of the Large Nose"), the Grand Colas, and the Roi-Chevalier (the "Knight-King")[1] for his personal involvement in the wars against his great rival the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V. Following the policy of his predecessors, Francis continued the Italian Wars. The succession of Charles V to the Burgundian Netherlands, the throne of Spain, and his subsequent election as Holy Roman Emperor, meant that France was geographically encircled by the Habsburg monarchy. In his struggle against Imperial hegemony, he sought the support of Henry VIII of England at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. When this was unsuccessful, he formed a Franco-Ottoman alliance with the Muslim sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, a controversial move for a Christian king at the time. And here is my coin of Sulayman Please post your favourite hammered coins. France; François I gold Écu d'or au soleil. Attractive lustrous issue Nice lustre with minor nick and scratch. 3,3gr ,917 gold. The Canadian Numismatic Auction Company. November 2017 public TOREX Auction, Lot 518
Nice one. I can add a silver. François Ier (1515 - 1521 A.D.) Blanc à la couronne O: FRANCISCVS FRANCORVM REX, écu de France entre trois couronnes, dans un trilobe. R: DSIT NOMEN DNI BENEDICTVM, croix cantonnée de deux lis et de deux couronnes, dans un quadrilobe. 24mm 2.48g Duplessy 835
Francis got clobbered at the Battle of Pavia by German Holy Roman Emperor Karl V in 1525. The Imperial forces added by Spanish and German troops ended the Italian campaign. Here is my Karl V coin....ex: Morton&Eden auction AV Reale d'or ND Antwerpen Mint 26mm. 5.89g./crude strike as usual Spanish Netherlands/ Duchy of Barbant Karl V
Cool write up and Ecu @Orfew ! Me: So few from this time period and / or "hammered" Suleyman Ottoman Empire Suleiman the Magnificent 1520-1566 AV Sultani CE Constantinople mint 1520 19mm 3.5g Ivan the Terrible RUSSIA Ivan IV The Terrible 1533-1584 AR Denga Moscow mint Horseman riding right brandishing sword - Inscription in lines G&K 59 Rare type Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain Spain - Ferdinand and Isabella AE Blanca - Granada mint 1469-1504 CE Elizabeth of England England - Elizabeth I - 1558-1603 AR Shilling
I'm making a move on a hammered coin or two now, fingers crossed! Another gold sweetie for @Orfew ! Here's a Hammered French colonial coin from over 200 years later. INDIA, French Pondicherry Æ Doudou, 16mm, 4.0g, 12h; c. AD 1720-1837 Obv.: Fleur de lis. Rev.: 3-line Tamil legend, naming the mint: Pu du / ch e r / i Reference: KM 35
That is a very interesting coin Chris. I wish you luck with the coins you are pursuing. I have found that my interest in these coins is growing. I will never abandon my early imperial coins, but the hammered coins are also historical.
Much beautiful ecu of François I° you got there @Orfew (for some reason I'm partial to french coinage ) Here's a teston bearing his portrait :: Francois I° (1515-1547) - Teston du Dauphiné deuxieme type Atelier de Romans (point secret sous la deuxième lettre, R couronnée au revers) + (triangle) FRANCISCVS.DEI.GRA.FRANCOR.REX (triangle) buste cuirassé et couronné a droite + (triangle) SIT.NOMEN.DNI.BENEDICTVM.R.(Mm) (triangle). Ecu ecartelé de France et Dauphiné. Grande F sur l'ecartelé (après le 8 octobre 1528, date à laquelle une lettre F brochant sur l'écartelé fut ajoutée sur les testons (source CGB VSO 09/1067)) 9,25 gr - 26/29 mm Ref : Ciani # 1141v Q
Thanks @Cucumbor I love the Teston. Rarely do I see the portrait on these so well defined. I thought seriously about one of those because it has the portrait. As far as I know there are no portraits of him in gold.He is an important historical figure so he will fit into my historical figures very nicely.
You're right. The first realistic portrait on royal french was that of Louis XII, predecessor of François I° and on silver testons only Not mine unfortunately : Louis XII - 08/04/1498-31/12/1514 Teston Then you'll have to wait until Henri II to find a portrait of the king in gold (Henri d'or and double Henri d'or) : Not mine either : HENRI II - (31/03/1547-10/07/1559) Double henri d'or Q
