By Chris Chatigny, Numismatist & Cataloger – Stack’s Bowers …..
The Stack’s Bowers Galleries August ANA World’s Fair of Money auction catalogs can be viewed here. This final preview for the live session is a gorgeous French Proof Ecu of Louis XV that was struck in 1740, a busy year for the king.
He met his second mistress (Pauline-Félicité) who happened to be the sister of his first mistress. She became pregnant, although unfortunately the child and mother died in childbirth. The king became distraught but eventually recovered and pursued the youngest sister from that same family, Marie Anne.
The obverse design features a distinguished bust of the 30-year-old monarch with a fox underneath attaching this to the mint director M. Renard de Petiton. The legend around translates to: “Louis XV, by the Grace of God, France and Navarre, King.” The reverse showcases the crowned arms of the king within a partial wreath. The mintmark for Paris (A) appears below.
The reverse inscription translates to: “Blessed be the name of the Lord,” followed by a flower (Engraver Georges Roettiers’ mark). It is a marvelous example of the type, struck from dies that were carefully produced, rendering deep glossy reflectivity in the fields and raised designs that are uniformly sharp and showcase particularly bold relief over Louis XV’s meticulously engraved bust.
The surfaces have attractively toned from ages of cabinet storage, with soft gold and gray tones over both sides.
Stack’s Bowers is accepting consignments of world and ancient coins and world paper money for the October 2018 Collector’s Choice Online Auction as well as the January 2019 New York International Auction. In addition, they are currently taking consignments of Chinese and other Asian coins and currency for the March 2019 Hong Kong Showcase Auction. If you are interested in consigning your coins and paper currency (whether a whole collection or a single rarity) contact one of Stack’s Bowers consignment directors.
