309, Lot: 450. Estimate $100. Sold for $60. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

FRANCE, Provincial. Besançon (libre ville imperiale). AR Teston – Huit gros d’argent (28mm, 8.04 g, 12h). In the name of Karl V, Holy Roman Emperor, 1519-1558. Dated 1624. Laureate, draped, and armored bust of Karl V left / Coat-of-arms. C&K M11/1624. Near VF, toned.

Ex Archer M. Huntington Collection (HSA 1001.1.21927).

In 843 Besançon fell under the control of the Duke of Burgundy following the division of Charlemagne’s empire. Control of the city then passed on to the Holy Roman Empire in 1034, and it later became a prince-bishopric in 1184. Continued struggles with the Duke of Burgundy strained the rule of the Archbishop, with the former ultimately retaking the city during the 15th century. The marriage between Mary of Burgundy and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I placed control of Besançon back under the empire and now the Habsburgs. During the reign of Charles V (1519-1558), the city’s free imperial status was protected and in recognition of this, her coinage continued to bear his portrait into the mid 17th century, long after his abdication and death.