France. 1720-A 1/2 Louis d’Or. Paris Mint. Gadoury-327. AU-55 (PCGS). <p>75.7 grains. Overstruck on an earlier (1718-20) demi Louis dor a la croix Malte. Nice lustrous medium yellow gold with some deeper ruddy highlights within the peripheral legends. Aside from minor hairlines and a couple of marks in the right obverse field, only a couple of natural striations near the reverse fleur-de-lis catch careful notice. The undertype is very subtle, more visible on obverse than reverse. The eye appeal is excellent for the grade.<p><p><p>A very scarce type. We record no recent American sales. Künker offered an example in June 2011 that hammered at 11,000 euros. PCGS# 151537. From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex Anthony Terranova Collection; John Agre and Dave Wnuck (Coin Rarities Online), via Mike Wierzba, January 2008.
