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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2014 22:23:04 GMT -5
Hi All Wrapped up the season today, ended with some French silver and a few other tidbits I will post later. I need help with this French coin, based on the weight (2.10 gms) and the diameter (21mm), I've believed it is a 1695 1/12 ECU with a G mint mark. The only problem is I cannot find a G mint mark for that year, any help would be appreciated. Cheers Tony
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Post by Patrick on Dec 30, 2014 7:21:39 GMT -5
Hey Tony...that's a GREAT find1 I just noticed that the King side is overstamped...you can see a flur-de-lis as well as part of the crown over Louis' bust. That's a cool feature!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2014 7:32:28 GMT -5
Hey Pat
You're right, made me do a double take at first, looks like the King is drunk with a tie wrapped around his head ;-). Turns out it is not a 1/4 but a 1/12 ECU, but I can't seem to find any info on the 1695 1/12 ecu with the G mint mark. Hoping it's rare ;-)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2014 7:38:50 GMT -5
Tony ...that is just incredibly awesome ! My ultimate goal is to hopefully find something from the 1700's here around Lunenburg. The history is definitely there ! Just Awesome Man !
sodbuster
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2014 7:42:44 GMT -5
Don't give up sodbuster, it took me two years plus needed the help of a very knowledgeable gentleman who took me to the right areas. I was very fortunate and lucky to have ran into him.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2014 10:57:43 GMT -5
Awesome! Not many people can say they have dug a 1600's Silver here! CONGRATS!
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Post by Leslie Sarkany on Dec 30, 2014 13:15:43 GMT -5
Outstanding way to wrap up a year. Best in 2015
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2014 14:43:20 GMT -5
Hey Tony, way to set the bar beyond reach for everyone else!
I think that what you have there is a 1/2 ECU. Circular shield dividing palm leaves was never struck on any other denomination.
You can find it in the Krause catalog under ; World coins 1600 - 1700, France, #295.8
I think the reason for the double imaging is the coin was struck twice, with a flip in between.
It's an unusual coin, and a great find by any standard. Congratulations.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2014 15:38:29 GMT -5
Hey Tony, way to set the bar beyond reach for everyone else! I think that what you have there is a 1/2 ECU. Circular shield dividing palm leaves was never struck on any other denomination. You can find it in the Krause catalog under ; World coins 1600 - 1700, France, #295.8 I think the reason for the double imaging is the coin was struck twice, with a flip in between. It's an unusual coin, and a great find by any standard. Congratulations. Hey CG, thanks for the reply, with the weight of 2.10gms and a diameter of 21mm, I believe it narrows it down to a 1/12 ecu. I can find quite a bit of info on the 1/12 ecu from 1695, but nothing with the mint mark of "G". Even this site www.rhinocoins.com/france/francea450.html shows a picture of the 1695 1/12 ecu with the "G" mint mark, but when you scroll down to the 1695 section, there is no "G" mint mark listed for 1695, very baffling. The double image was created when they re-struck old coins to make new ones. If you flip the image to the right you can make out a crown with two fleur de lis underneath, really unique coin. Cheers Tony
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2014 16:08:49 GMT -5
okay, that narrows it down considerably. It is indeed a 1/12 ECU, but minting dates for G (Poitiers) are only given as 1694 and 1696. That doesn't mean they didn't make any, just that standard catalogs are unaware of them.
I don't know anyone in Canada who can help you with this identification. Perhaps a dealer in the Toronto area, but none of my contacts are specialists in this field.
I hope it proves to be a new find and your name is forever associated with it.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2014 18:06:31 GMT -5
I wouldn't be so lucky, probably found the first fake coin of the new world ;-)
Cheers
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2014 22:07:33 GMT -5
I was hoping you'd just bought this on eBay as I'm suffering from serious silver envy! That one might just push me over the edge... Very sweet coin, nice find!
Cheers, DS
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 7:02:48 GMT -5
I'm still shaking my head over that find Tony ! It would be an honour just to stand in your shadow !
Oh I'm not giving up ... ooh contraire mon frare ! I've been doing a bit of research and actually scanned a beach the other day near Fort Point ( no luck) ... damn near froze That wind was blowing in the Bay all the way from England. I was hoping to maybe find a musket or cannon ball, but with 400 years of tides and storms its hard to find air photos from the 1700's. But Champlain was known to have been at the mouth of the Lahave in 1604 and was settled by the French in 1632 ..." The Capital of all of New France " . Lunenburg itself was settled in 1753 ... so the potential is certainly there . Going to be a long winter for me !
sodbuster
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 8:26:31 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies everyone
It was indeed a great find but as I stated earlier, although I did pull the coin out of the soil (using the Fisher Gold Bug, not the ATPro this time), but I needed the help of a very knowledgeable detectorist who knew the area. I will still rub the coin everyday and call it "My Precious" ;-) but I do have someone to thank for putting me in the right spot.
Watching the snow fall outside and the mercury plummeting, I do believe that the dirt fishing is over for this season, I look forward to reading the adventures of the Bluenosers next year and seeing many pics of old silver. Hopefully 2015 will be the year that a few of us get together for a few joint adventures, I hear Lunenburg is nice that time of year ;-)
Here's to a happy and healthy New Year
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 14:50:18 GMT -5
Good catch. French Silver is tough to come by, ANYWHERE, even if you are in the right place, there is no guarantee of getting one. I personally don't believe they (Acadians) were as rich, cash wise, as we have been led to believe, or they were very carefull with their homeland Silver ?
Over strikes are very common for french silver from that era. I don't know why they did it so much, perhaps one reason was to save money melting down old coin, and re-making the blanks. My 1/3 Ecu from last year was an over strike. Even the website you linked to says this entire series was "REFORMED".
As far as the mint mark, I'm not going to argue about it, but before we re-write the books, I can see no cross bar on the capitol "G" so why can't it be a "C". The lower part of the "5" looks pretty straight to me, so why can't it be the lower part of a 4 ? or better yet a 7, then the C mint mark fits. KM # 290.2. Seems way more logical to me than discovering an unknown coin after 300+ years.
Yep, the grouund has gone hard, it will be awhile before we can stick our tools in.
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