Ecu au bandeau Louis XV

The Écu au bandeau was one of several colonial-era and ancien régime types revived by the Monnaie de Paris in the early 1990s as part of a broader series reissuing historically significant French coin designs in sterling silver. The original bandeau-portrait type, introduced in 1740 with engraving by Roettiers, replaced the earlier laureate portrait of Louis XV and remained in production through the 1770s across multiple French mints.

The 1992 restrike predates the euro transition by a decade, issued while France was actively debating ratification of the Maastricht Treaty.