French Ecu

1748 French Ecu (?? either Lillie or Lyon) VF/XF

A nice big fat silver coin

 

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Is there an image to go with the coin?

 

Ian,
It's a new coin at my local coin shop. I'm not familiar with the coin series but the coin has great eye appeal and all he wants in $98. I did a little more research online and through a friend , and I'm going back to verify the Mint and do a double take on the VF/XF grade. If it is as I remembered, I might just have to buy it.

I will of course then post a pic

 

Carefull how you go. That type is not exactly in short supply, with many millions having been produced between 1741 and 1774 at numerous mints. The type is plagued by adjustment marks to the flan pre-strike, so you tend to find a lot of them with what looks to be heavy grooves in them. The type is also prone to be badly struck up in parts. So, a coin that hasn't got ugly obtrusive adjustment marks on it, and is fully struck up is (ideally) what you want to be on the look out for.

$98 in VF seems to me to be a good price......even better if it is more close to EF than VF.

check out ebay auction #8339839263. I would say that that one is almost VF. When I looked it was at about €54 euros. I would say that it is worth in the region of €75 ($90 ish) - €85 ($102). If your coin dealer is offering a trouble free coin in a similar grade, then it's probably a fair deal. Just my humble opinion of course.

Ian

 

This is it



1748 W French 'Ecu au bandeau

Can someone provide me with a KM#?

 

Nice catch. Wish I had a coin shop like that. Come to think on it...wish I had a coin shop.

I see what you mean about the eye appeal.

Ian

 

Its has some rainbow colored toning along the bottom edge of the obv. but after several tries I just couldn't pick up the colors with my camera or lighting tech. The coin's lustre is not as flat as shown in the photos.

Thanks for your imput!!!

 

Hey guys, what is the little mark under the bust? Looks like a pelican but probably engraver's initials?

 

On French coins of the era not only do you have the mint mark (in this case `W' for Lille found on the reverse under the wreath ties, but you also have another two symbols (or `ateliers' - workshop marks). One is found under the bust, the other just before the date. One for the mint master and the other for the designer (or secondary designer dependent upon the period). I'm not sure on these coins which is which. I would think that the one under the bust is the designers workshop mark but I can't be sure without digging out some references. From memory, I think the mark under the bust is a Heron...perhaps a Pelican (as I think the Heron wasn't used until after 1763).

GD? Got your boooks on hand?

Ian

 

Doug,
Can you interpret the wording on the obverse and reverse for me.
I'm having a hard time finding info on this coin on the web. I've got to be looking in the worng place.

 

An interesting legend, the source of which is the latin prayer `Benedictiones Mensae' (`Blessings at the Table'). You can now peruse this in greater depth at your leisure as and when (or indeed if) the notion ever takes you.

In the context of the prayer, the priest states `sit nomen domini benedictum' to which the rejoinder of those present is `ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum' . This translates as `Blessed be the name of the Lord' and `from now and forevermore'.

Yes....I'm having one of those sleepless nights.

 

I did one year are school with latin. Hated every moment of it.

Of course, now (as with many things) I wish I had studied it a little more meaningfully.

I've learned more concerning latin through the study of coins than I ever did at school

carpe cerevisi!

Ian

 

Seize the Beer?..OK,sounds good to me.

 

another favourite altered quote of mine is `while there's beer, there's hope'.



Ian