Amongst the most photogenic was the first lot, the Henri IV silver franc, which is particularly special because it is struck on a thick flan called a piedfort. It is also in pristine condition. Estimated at SFr10,000 it nestles in a new cabinet by dint of an unsurprising bid of SFr17,000 (£6800). This catalogue enumerates a very complete collection of the coins from one of the finest periods of French decorative art and is useful on that account.
So comprehensive is this sale that it is hard to pick out any particular examples. The Louis d’Or is a famous coin; they were estimated in the SFr1500-2500 range. Just as a typical example I illustrate the 1709 one. Estimated at SFr1500 it realised SFr1200 (£480). Although this was on the inexpensive side, most of the lots went for around their estimates, so this catalogue offers a fairly reliable price guide.
A Stack of coins…
Attentive readers of the Antiques Trade Gazette will remember the sale of the Lawrence R. Stack collection of English medieval coins at Sotheby’s in April 1999. He also had a good collection of French coins from the time of Henri IV (1589-1610) to about Waterloo. These were dispersed by Hess-Divo (15% buyer’s premium) in Zurich on October 24 in 380 lots.
