Lot 523
Belgium -- Flanders (Low Countries). Chaise d'Or, ND (Ghent). Fr-163; Gaill.-218; Delm. 466; Coll. Vernier 20. 4.48 grams. Louis de Maele, 1346-1384. Ruler on ornate gothic throne facing, holding upright sword and hand resting on shield having lion within, all within gothic poly-lobed tressure. Reverse: Cross fleury with voided quatrefoil at center, fleur-de-lis at the angles, all within quatre-lobe tressure. A gorgeous example, glowing with reddish gold luster and blessed with an especially even, crisp strike. Obverse die shows a touch of light die rust. Scarce this nice. NGC graded MS-64.
The reign of Louis of Maele was one of the more stable and lengthy stewardships among those of his contemporaries. With prosperous Flanders benefiting in particular from the English wool trade, and generally awash in incoming foreign currency, local coinage in gold became vital. The Chaise d'Or was the final, and longest enduring, issue of Louis' large gold coins, although it was a bit on the light side -- averaging roughly 4.5 grams. His coin types were mostly imitative of earlier or contemporary French examples. However, the Lion d' Or was unique to Louis' artistic visions and was, incidentally, the heaviest of his gold issues.
Estimated Value $2,500 - 3,000.
Illustrated in Money of The World, coin 78.
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| Realized $6,038 |
