France, League in the name of Henry III, half franc (demi-franc) 1590 (posthumous), Saint-Lizier mint.
Obv. IHENRICVS•III•DG•FRANC•ET•POL•REX/I590, dot under I in HENRICVS (5th letter); bust facing right in a wreath, with a high collar and an order chain on the chest, mint mark •K.
Rv. SIT•NOMEN•DOMINI•BENEDICTVMC[rozeta], dot under O in NOMEN (5th letter); flower cross ending with Capetian lilies.
Silver, 4.83 g, 28.1 mm. Duplessy 1160; Kopicki Katalog 81.16 (rr); Kopicki Skorowidz 10366 (R3).
Grade: Near XF, darkly toned, very well preserved for the issue.
On the obverse, the royal nose was deformed by a defect of the die (known from other coins of this issue), which was apparently deliberately transformed into an image of a male genitalia. Rare!
