French king Louis (Lud, Lvd) XV reign started in 1715 and continued all the way to 1774. Coins from this period show various designs with this one is prominent on ecu and fractional ecu coins (sols) from 1740. These are wonderful old coins, and it sounds like you have a nice one, Jim, with good eye appeal and nice toning. Congrats!
The coin in our image is pretty well worn although, in my view, the eye appeal is up. Worn coins don't command strong value. Here are some stats from the catalogs:
1/5 ECU (26 mm diameter):
worn: $10 US dollars catalog value
average circulated: $60
well preserved: $250
1/2 ECU (31 mm diameter}:
worn: $10
average circulated: $120
well preserved: $300
1 ECU (42 mm diameter):
worn: $25
average circulated: $100
well preserved: $300
These are catalog values and they are subject to the whims of coin pricing. Our Important Terminology page (link at upper left) explains how catalog value is related to actual value. Usually, actual value is less.
Now if you can find an old French ecu in superb condition, like the one in the side picture from respected dealer
Alain Cheilan in Toulon, France, the price goes up, way up! Alain has
this particular coin on sale for 1600 euros, almost $2000 US dollars, and that is a fair price for such a superb coin.
Jim alludes to another interesting aspect of old French coins. They carry
privvy marks as well as mint marks. The cow (steer) Jim mentions is a mint mark, and the tulip is a privvy mark. It is this kind of stuff that gets coin collector juices flowing -- trying to find extra nice examples of coins with interesting features. But, for CoinQuest, we cannot get deep into such nuances, but only report averge prices.
