FRANCE. 1695-A 1/12 Ecu. Paris Mint. Overstruck on a 1670-A French Colonies 5 Sols. Fine Details--Bent (PCGS).

31.6 grains. A fascinating artifact reflective of the occasional return of the GLORIAM REGNI pieces to France after their circulation in the Western Hemisphere. Though their authorizing legislation made it illegal for them to circulate in mainland France, a few seem to have found their way back. This is one of four examples of this type Martin identfied on 1670-A 5 sols hosts, all illustrated on pages 98 and 99 of his French Coinage Specifically for Colonial America. Aside from the dent at central reverse, it is an attractive circulated specimen, with dark gray fields and lighter silver-gray devices. Some granularity is seen, chiefly at peripheries, and some old scrapes in the upper right obverse. The 167 of the host date is easily seen at the rim left of 6 o'clock as seen on the overstrike, and LVD from the host obverse is bold atop the overstrike obverse. This piece and the few others like it were the subject of an article in the Fall 2014 C4 Newsletter by Jacques St.-Arnaud (along with two similar pieces in the Canadian Numismatic Journal, cited in Martin). He cites a 1691 document from Quebec (earlier from Shortt, page 97) that mentions the need to send "coins not yet restamped" back to "the mints in France for conversion into new money." While this probably refers to the old billon 12 sols that were recoined into 15 sols in this era, there was a widescale program to overstrike older silver and gold French coins as they were officially revalued. Pieces like this may have been swept up in that process.

Ex Pierre Raymond; Canadian Numismatic Auction Company's 2017 RCNA sale, July 2017, lot 66; Sydney F. Martin; our sale of the Sydney F. Martin Collection, Part II, Winter 2022 Auction, November, lot 1028.