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Écu d'Or - Francis I 1st type
| Issuer | France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1540-1547 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | FRANCISCVS: DEI: G: FRANCORVM: RX: (François, par la grâce de Dieu, roi de France) |
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| Additional information |
Francis I's monetary reform of 1540 replaced the older écu au soleil with this first-type écu d'or, adjusting the coin's fineness and legal tender rate as part of a broader effort to stabilize royal finances strained by decades of Italian campaign expenditure and the escalating rivalry with Charles V. The reform fixed the écu at 45 sous tournois, a valuation that would itself prove unstable within a generation.
Duplessy 880 encompasses the entire final reign period, meaning pieces struck in the last months before Francis's death in March 1547 are indistinguishable from those of 1540 without mint-specific die study.