1/8 Ecu of Flanders with insignia - Louis XIV round shield

This issue belongs to Louis XIV's sweeping monetary reform of 1701, which reorganized French silver denominations and introduced new ecu types distinguished by regional insignia — Flanders among them, reflecting the crown's insistence on projecting sovereignty over territories that remained diplomatically contested. The reform was partly fiscal: recoinage generated seigniorage revenue at a moment when the War of the Spanish Succession was beginning to drain the treasury at a rate the kingdom had rarely experienced.

The two-year window for this type is narrow by design. A further recoinage order in 1702 cut the run short.