The Double Tournois was France's workhorse small change throughout the first half of the seventeenth century, and Louis XIII's long reign — beginning at age nine in 1610 — produced an extraordinary proliferation of types and mint variations as royal administration struggled to standardize production across provincial mints. Nantes, operating under the mint mark T, served the commercial needs of western Loire trade and was among the more active copper-striking facilities of the period. The "3rd type" designation reflects one of several obverse punch revisions made during the early reign as die sinkers updated the young king's portrait to track his aging.
The Double Tournois was France's workhorse small change throughout the first half of the seventeenth century, and Louis XIII's long reign — beginning at age nine in 1610 — produced an extraordinary proliferation of types and mint variations as royal administration struggled to standardize production across provincial mints. Nantes, operating under the mint mark T, served the commercial needs of western Loire trade and was among the more active copper-striking facilities of the period. The "3rd type" designation reflects one of several obverse punch revisions made during the early reign as die sinkers updated the young king's portrait to track his aging.