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!
Ecu - Charles I
| Issuer | Arches-Charleville, Principality of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1613 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Silver |
| 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 | Displayed eagle with wings spread, bearing on its breast a shield charged with a radiant sun; the eagle is surmounted by a princely crown. The date 1613 appears in the lower field between the eagle's talons. A circular Latin legend runs around the periphery within a beaded border, reading CAR DVX NIVERNENSIS ET RETHELENSIS with the denomination mark XXX. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Crowned quartered coat of arms displaying the dynastic quarters of the house of Gonzaga-Nevers, including fleurs-de-lis, a cross, and additional heraldic charges, flanked by ornate scroll mantling. The shield is surmounted by a princely crown with elaborate floral crest. A circular Latin legend within a beaded border reads DEI GRATIA PRINCEPS ARCHENSIS FIDES, affirming the prince's title by 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 |
Charleville was a planned Renaissance town founded by Charles de Gonzague, Duke of Nevers, who began construction in 1606 on land technically outside French royal jurisdiction — the Principality of Arches gave him the authority to strike his own coinage. This ecu was issued just as the town's central Place Ducale was being laid out, and the mint's output was always a political statement of dynastic independence pressed in silver rather than merely a commercial necessity.
Charles de Gonzague would later inherit the Duchy of Mantua in 1627, triggering the War of the Mantuan Succession. The Charleville mint's earlier years, including this 1613 issue, represent the period when his ambitions were still focused westward.