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Ecu with 8 Ls - Louis XIV 2nd type
| Issuer | Monnaie de Paris (Royal Mint of France) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1704-1709 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Silver Ecu |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Latin |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The "8 L" écus were emergency coinage in everything but name. Louis XIV's wars — the War of the Spanish Succession chief among them — had bled the royal treasury to the point where the mint was ordered to recoin enormous quantities of older silver on reforming edicts of 1704 and 1709, extracting seigniorage profit with each pass through the dies. The design itself was a fiscal instrument: eight interlaced Ls packed onto a single flan represented not dynastic vanity but an accounting exercise, generating revenue from the recoinage mandate itself.
Surviving pieces frequently show adjustment marks from the original blanks, a consequence of the rushed recoinage program rather than careless striking.