Catalog
1/4 Ecu - Honoré II
| Issuer | Monaco |
|---|---|
| Year | 1648-1651 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The arms of Monaco — the lozengy shield of the Grimaldi family, fusilly bendy of argent and gules — displayed prominently at center, surmounted by a princely crown. The heraldic shield occupies the majority of the reverse field, with a circular Latin legend surrounding it bearing the ruler's additional titles and the date of issue. The die-work is characteristic of hammered silver coinage of the period, with some weakness of strike evident on the irregular flan. |
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| Additional information |
Honoré II secured the title "Prince of Monaco" from Louis XIII in 1612 — the first of his dynasty to hold it — after decades of Spanish suzerainty that had kept the Grimaldis nominally subordinate. The coinage he issued from the 1640s onward was a deliberate assertion of that princely rank, struck under rights granted by the French crown. Monaco's mint output from this period is genuinely scarce; the principality's small population and limited commercial reach meant production runs were modest, and attrition over four centuries has been severe.