Auction catalog Bourgey décember 1965

146 lots illustrated on 8 pages of plates.

Preface by Emile Bourgey:

An exceptional collection—this phrase is fully justified here to describe this extraordinary assemblage of French gold coins, spanning from the Gallic period to the present day.

Exceptional: the stater of Vercingetorix, the series of coins of Philip VI of Valois, the demi-mouton of John the Good, the salut d’or of Charles VI, the double d’or or “chaise” of Charles VI from the Tours mint, the series of Henry II coins, some of which illustrate the reference work on French coinage, the trial strike of the double louis of Louis XIII, the piéfort of the double louis of Louis XIV with short hair, the double louis of Louis XV bearing the royal insignia, struck in Besançon…

Also exceptional, due to their condition: the “masse d’or” and petit royal of Philip IV, the mouton of John the Good, a youthful portrait of Louis XIV, child effigies of Louis XV, and the louis and demi-louis of Louis XVI in court dress…

The author of this collection, deliberately avoiding coins of lesser interest, focused instead on examples of unusual quality, favoring selective acquisition over numerical accumulation. This is the result of many years of patient research; a number of these coins come from renowned collections.

Foreign coins are represented by a very fine series of Spanish and South American issues, including the very rare gold ducaton of Charles II struck in Antwerp in 1698, as well as a set of Russian coins, among them the trial strike of the 5 roubles of 1762 under Catherine II.

E. B.