FRANCE - LOUIS XIV - DEMI-ÉCU DE FLANDRE 1685 PARIS - NGC MS62 - TOP POP

Louis XIV (1643-1715), demi-écu de Flandre, 1685, struck at Paris.

Obverse: draped bust of the king right, wearing the full wig, a cross-topped globe below. Legend LVD XIIII D G FR ET NAV REX, with a sun after D G. Reverse: crowned shield quartered, 1 and 4 France, 2 modern Burgundy, 3 ancient Burgundy. Legend SIT NOMEN DOMINI BENEDICTVM 1685, opened by the engraver’s privy mark (crescent). Mint letter A (Paris) below the shield.

Edge lettered in relief. Bold strike. Uneven toning with blue highlights. Mint State.

Particularly rare on the market in this condition. Top Pop: this is the finest graded example!

Note: by the Edict of Chambord of September 1685, Louis XIV gave newly annexed French Flanders a coinage of its own. It comprised five denominations reckoned in sols of Flanders, with a weight and fineness different from those of the kingdom. The half écu was worth 40 sols of Flanders. It was struck at 857 thousandths instead of 917, yet was markedly heavier than the ordinary half écu. The quarters of ancient and modern Burgundy, set beside the arms of France, spoke to the people of the former Burgundian Netherlands. Struck at Lille, Amiens and Paris, the series has long been known to collectors by the nickname “carambole”.