Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/4 Ecu - Henry III of Navarre
| Issuer | Béarn, Lordship of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1586-1589 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/4 Ecu |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Crowned and quartered heraldic shield at center: quarters one and four bearing the chains of Navarre, quarter two the Béarnese cow, and quarter three the fleurs-de-lis of Bourbon. The shield is flanked on either side by the Roman numerals II-II, referencing the denomination. The entire device is surmounted by a royal crown in relief. A circular Latin legend surrounds the composition, incorporating the date 1588, reading GRATIA DEI SVM Q D SVM, a biblical motto from 1 Corinthians 15:10 affirming divine grace. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Henry III of Navarre — the future Henry IV of France — issued coinage from Béarn during precisely the years he was fighting for his political survival in the Wars of Religion. The 1586–1589 window falls squarely within the period following the War of the Three Henrys, when Béarn functioned as a Protestant stronghold and its mint as a statement of autonomous lordship. Béarnese coinage of this phase is notoriously inconsistent in die execution, a consequence of interrupted production and limited skilled labor during active conflict.
Henry converted to Catholicism in 1593, four years after this issue closed.