Double Tournois - Louis XIII Bordeaux mint, 15th type

The Double Tournois had been a workhorse of French small change since the medieval period, but by the reign of Louis XIII the type had become a political instrument as much as a monetary one. The proliferation of distinct regional types — Bordeaux alone produced multiple successive varieties across his reign — reflects the Crown's ongoing effort to assert minting authority over provincial workshops that had long operated with considerable autonomy. The 15th type for Bordeaux represents one of the final iterations before the series was substantially reorganized under Mazarin's administration.

Copper coinage of this period circulated brutally and survivors in decent condition are scarcer than mintage figures alone suggest.