Can't Believe So Many Such Old French Coins!

Henry - The coin is Italian - one of the State issues in the name of the wife of a ruler. From the Title of the auction it is a Luigino which is a smallish Billion or debased silver coin that weighed 2-2.3 grams. They were issued for many states. But this one appears to be from Tassarolo. The bust is that of Livia Centurioni. KM# 52. The legends do match. Die work is difficult to confirm.

Billion coins and tiny silver coins are the types seen in hoards - they were small change and tend to be common for a period of time after each hoard is discovered. Krause's World Coins 1601 to 1700 shows several types all of similar price range. The coin appears to have heavily corroded surfaces. So a hoard is to be suspected provided the coin is real. Many recent hoards are salted with cast copies so provenance of the coin is fairly critical. Once away from the original hoard it is any-body's guess as to specific origin and distinguishing between a real corroded coin and a cast example becomes DIFFICULT. Same problem as the El Cazador coins.

The French crowned shield indicates it is one of the North western states under French influence. There are NUMEROUS die types and I am not aware of a book that is available which lists the various die types. For me these fall into the category of the French deniers - coins with VERY LIMITED INTEREST and therefore relatively low value.

Thank you swamperbob and autroskiwi, both of you provide me with valuable information about this coin. Now I have confident to bid for one and study its history behind. I am deeply indebted for your help. Henry