Double Tournois - Louis XIII Riom mint, 4th type

The Double Tournois was a fractional copper denomination that Louis XIII's administration struck at over two dozen provincial mints simultaneously — a deliberate policy of geographic dispersal intended to flood the kingdom with small change and curb the chronic shortage of petite monnaie that had plagued French commerce since the Wars of Religion. Riom, the judicial capital of Auvergne, held mint rights largely by institutional inertia; it was a functioning administrative center rather than a commercial hub, which kept its output modest.

The 4th type corresponds to a specific royal ordinance revision. Provincial Double Tournois issues of this window are frequently misattributed; the Riom mint mark requires careful confirmation against CGKL references.