ITALY - ITALIE Asti, Charles of Orleans (1408-1422). Golden shield, without the title of lord of Asti ND (1419 or 1422?), Orléans ? Av + KAROLVS+ DEI+ GRA+ DVX+ AVRELIENSIS. Shield bordered by a grenetis, the arms of Orléans (azure three fleurs-de-lis Or with a three-point label Argent in chief). Rv. + XPC* VINCIT* XPC* REGNAT* XPC* INPRA. A cross flory and leaved, with a star within a lozenge in heart, all within a quatrefoil with re-entrant angles adorned with lilies, and flanked by four coronets. MIR.39 - MEC.12 - - Biaggi 245 - CNI.II p.19, n° 1-2 - RN 1861 p.451-457 = this engraved specimen - Fr.66 = this specimen ; Gold - 3,73 g - 28,5 mm - 1 h Top Pop: this is the only engraved example! It is probably the copy engraved in the Numismatique magazine of 1861, by A. de Longpérier and the one which illustrates the Friedberg. NGC MS 63 (8387352-001). Of the greatest rarity with a few known examples, our example being one of the finest known, on a broad blank, with the mint barely off-centre and covered with a golden patina. Superb at Fleur de coin. Asti was in the hands of Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1375-1402, Duke in 1485), who included the seigneury in the dowry of his daughter Valentine, wife of Louis de Valois, Duke of Orléans (1372-1407) and brother of King Charles VI. Their son Charles I of Orléans became Duke after his father was assassinated on the orders of John the Fearless (23 November 1407), his mother dying shortly afterwards (1408). At the age of 13, he became Duke of Orléans and Valois, Count of Blois and Soissons, Lord of Asti and leader of the Armagnac party. Unfortunately, he was taken prisoner at Azincourt and remained a captive for 25 years, during which time he wrote poetic works. In 1441, he was released and claimed his seigneury of Asti, which had been inherited from his mother, as well as the Duchy of Milan. His son Louis, born in 1462, was the future King Louis XII, who claimed his grandmother's Italian inheritance and provoked the Second Italian War. Our gold shield "with the arms of Orléans" was the subject of a notice by Adrien de Longpérier in the Numismatique review of 1861, which indicated several possible minting dates, in particular 1419 or 1422, with a minting location in the "pays de Lorris" (Orléans). It remains to be seen why this coinage was minted during the captivity of Charles d'Orléans, perhaps to pay a ransom which was not paid until 1441. * Following Council Directive (EU) 2022/542 of April 5, 2022, implemented in national law from 01/01/2025, buyers from within the EU have to pay 5.5% VAT on the hammer price of this lot. * Following Council Directive (EU) 2022/542 of April 5, 2022, implemented in national law from 01/01/2025, buyers from within the EU have to pay 5.5% VAT on the hammer price of this lot.