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1/2 Ecu - Honore II
| Issuer | Principality of Monaco |
|---|---|
| Year | 1648-1651 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The crowned arms of Monaco at centre, displaying the characteristic lozengy field of alternating argent and gules (rendered in silver and stippled engraving), surmounted by a princely crown adorned with floral finials. A scroll or cartouche bearing the motto DEO IVVAN is placed across the escutcheon. The surrounding circular legend reads DEO. IVVAN. DVX. VALENT. PAR FRANCIAE. & c., with the date 1649 incorporated within the legend at the upper left. The entire design is enclosed within a finely beaded inner border. |
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| Reverse lettering | DEO. IVVAN. DVX. VALENT. PAR FRANCIAE. & c. 1649 |
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| Additional information |
Honoré II secured the title "Prince of Monaco" from Louis XIII in 1612, ending decades of Spanish suzerainty — but the principality's coinage rights remained contested well into mid-century. These half-écus were struck during the final years of his reign, when Monaco was consolidating its identity as a sovereign French-aligned statelet squeezed between Savoy and the sea. The dies were almost certainly cut locally rather than by a royal French engraver, which accounts for the considerable variation in workmanship across surviving pieces.