lot 20138, French Coins – Pavillon d’Or of Philip VI De Valois.
By Chris Chatigny, Numismatist & Cataloger – Stack’s Bowers ……
Today’s preview for the January New York International (NYINC)auction offers a gorgeous medieval French Coins in gold. We are proud to offer a substantial cache of this area of numismatics, which should cause considerable excitement even among seasoned collectors.
Our highlight is lot 20138, a Pavillon d’Or of Philip VI De Valois French coin. Philip’s reign became embroiled in conflict over his accession to the throne, as his predecessor (Charles IV) left no direct male heirs. The closest male relative to Charles was his maternal nephew, King Edward III of England. After Edward secured the English throne he laid claim to the Kingdom of France as well (although at that point, Philip had held it for nearly a decade). Edward’s claim precipitated the Hundred Year’s War, a defining medieval conflict.
The French Coin obverse design features an ornate throne with more fleur de lis than you could shake a scepter at. Philip is pictured at center, garbed in the regalia of the French monarchy. The reverse offers a familiar medieval design, a floriated cross within quadrilobe, with crowns at the outer angles. This piece displays a needle-sharp strike on a fully round planchet and clearly shows all of the fine detail as well as crisp clear legends on both sides. This is a highly lustrous, magnificent gem example of an artistically designed and highly attractive type.
While we are no longer taking consignments for our January 2018 New York International Auction, we are taking consignments of world and ancient coins as well as world paper money for the upcoming May 2018 Collector’s Choice Online Auction and the August 2018 ANA World’s Fair of Money Auction in Philadelphia. We are also accepting consignments of Chinese and other Asian coins and currency for our April 2018 Hong Kong Showcase Auction. If you are interested in consigning your coins and paper currency (whether a whole collection or a single rarity) be sure to contact one of our consignment directors.
