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Ecu of Bearn with 8 Ls - Louis XIV
| Issuer | Monnaie de Pau |
|---|---|
| Year | 1704-1709 |
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| Engraver(s) | Norbert Roettiers |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A cross composed of eight interlaced and crowned Ls, each arm terminating in a crown, forming a symmetrical cruciform arrangement. At the center, a shield bearing the arms of France quartered with Navarre-Béarn, the whole cantonned by four fleurs-de-lis radiating outward from the center. The date appears in the legend, which reads as a religious invocation. |
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| Mint | Pau Mint (Monnaie de Pau) |
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| Additional information |
Bearn retained its own mint at Pau long after the region's absorption into France, a concession rooted in the province's ancient fueros — local privileges jealously guarded even under Bourbon centralization. Louis XIV's administration made repeated attempts to rationalize French minting, and the great monetary reform of 1709 ultimately shuttered many provincial operations. Pau's ecu production across 1704–1709 thus falls squarely in the death throes of that regional minting tradition.
The eight Ls arrangement was a deliberate political geometry, broadcasting dynastic ambition in a period when France was hemorrhaging silver to fund the War of the Spanish Succession.