Written by the Maison Or & Bijoux Cannes team · updated
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Metal | 22-carat gold (917‰) |
| Weight of a single louis | About 6.75 g until 1709; 8.158 g in 1709-1715 and from 1726 to 1785; 7.649 g from 1785; variable from 1716 to 1725 |
| Diameter | 22 to 26 mm, according to type |
| Period | 1640-1792, with the constitutional louis struck until 1793 |
| Sizes | Half louis, louis, double louis; 4, 8 and 10 louis in 1640 only |
| Mints | Paris (A), Lyon (D), Aix (&), Lille (W), Bordeaux (K), Nantes (T), Strasbourg (BB) and about twenty more |
From its creation in 1640 to the fall of the monarchy, the louis d'or went through some twenty main types. Its fineness hardly moved, 22 carats, but its design and weight followed each recoinage. The portrait, the reverse and careful weighing are usually enough to date a coin within a few years.
The king appears in profile. Louis XIII and Louis XIV usually look to the right, Louis XV and Louis XVI to the left. The abbreviated Latin legend names the sovereign and his kingdoms: “LVD. XIIII. D. G. FR. ET NAV. REX” translates as “Louis XIV, King of France and Navarre by the grace of God”. The date and the mint letter are often found below the bust.
Several designs follow one another: the cross of eight crowned Ls (Louis XIII, then various Louis XIV types including the sun louis), four Ls or four lilies, the insignia of kingship, and finally the arms of France and Navarre in two shields: oval for the spectacles louis, square from 1785 to 1792. Around them, almost always, the motto “CHRS. REGN. VINC. IMP.”, for “Christus regnat, vincit, imperat”.
The types are listed in date order. The weight column gives the legal standard reported by Numista: it is the first figure to set against your own weighing. A type may have started or stopped slightly earlier or later depending on the mint.
| Type | Reign | Years | Weight | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross of eight Ls (first louis) | Louis XIII | 1640-1643 | 6.752 g | Laureate head signed by Jean Warin |
| Short lock (mèche courte) | Louis XIV | 1643-1656 | 6.751 g | Only Lyon still struck it after 1645 |
| Long lock (mèche longue) | Louis XIV | 1646-1660 | 6.751 g | Boy king, curl on the shoulder |
| Bare head, large head | Louis XIV | 1668-1683 | 6.751 g | The king as an adult |
| Shield type (à l'écu) | Louis XIV | 1690-1693 | 6.751 g | Often struck over an older louis |
| Four Ls (quatre L) | Louis XIV | 1693-1700 | 6.751 g | Four Ls around a cross of lilies |
| Eight Ls with insignia | Louis XIV | 1700-1703 | 6.751 g | Insignia set between the Ls |
| Insignia (aux insignes) | Louis XIV | 1704-1709 | 6.751 g | Short or long hair, depending on the coin |
| Sun (au soleil) | Louis XIV | 1709-1715 | 8.158 g | Central sun; heavier coin |
| Insignia | Louis XV | 1716 | 8.158 g | Two types struck in 1716 |
| Noailles louis | Louis XV | 1716-1718 | 12.235 g | Heaviest of the circulating louis |
| Cross of the Holy Spirit | Louis XV | 1718-1719 | 9.79 g | Years of John Law's system |
| Two Ls (deux L) | Louis XV | 1720-1723 | 9.79 g | Two interlaced Ls on the reverse |
| Mirliton | Louis XV | 1723-1725 | 6.525 g | Short palms, later large palms |
| Spectacles (aux lunettes) | Louis XV | 1726-1740 | 8.158 g | Two oval shields |
| Headband (au bandeau) | Louis XV | 1740-1774 | 8.158 g | Headband in the hair |
| Old head (vieille tête) | Louis XV | 1771-1774 | 8.158 g | The king in later life |
| Palms (aux palmes) | Louis XVI | 1774 | 8.158 g | Struck for one year only |
| Spectacles (aux lunettes) | Louis XVI | 1774-1785 | 8.158 g | King in an embroidered coat |
| Bare head (tête nue) | Louis XVI | 1785-1792 | 7.649 g | Square shields; 1785 reform |
| Constitutional louis | Louis XVI | 1792-1793 | 7.649 g | 24-livre louis |
Sources: Numista and the catalogues it cites (Gadoury, Duplessy, Clairand). The many Louis XIV busts of the 1660s to 1690s and the louis of Béarn are not shown.
The first clue is the profile. Facing right, it normally points to Louis XIII or Louis XIV; facing left, to Louis XV or Louis XVI. The Roman numeral after LVD in the legend settles any doubt.
Next comes the reverse, which gives the period: a cross of Ls, a sun at the heart of that cross, two oval shields side by side, two square shields. The table above matches each design with its years.
That leaves the mint letter. A means Paris, D Lyon, & Aix, K Bordeaux. It may be under the bust, under the shields or in the middle of the cross, depending on the type, and the date is never far away.
At its birth in 1640, the louis held a little over 6.75 g of gold at 22 carats. Coins were made on a screw press: the blanks are regular and any clipping of the rim shows at once. That weight held for nearly seventy years.
In 1709, a recoinage created the sun louis, raised to 8.158 g. The Regency years were turbulent: the Noailles louis reached 12.235 g, the types of 1718 to 1723 about 9.79 g, and the mirliton of 1723 dropped back to 6.525 g.
An edict of January 1726 brought back 8.158 g, which remained the norm up to the first louis of Louis XVI. The 1785 reform finally set the louis at 7.649 g, with two square shields on the reverse.
A coin much lighter than its type therefore deserves a close look: it may have been clipped, worn, holed and repaired, or made fraudulently.
The half louis repeats the design of the louis at half its weight: 3.376 g before 1709, then about 4.08 g for the sun louis, the spectacles louis and the headband louis. It measures close to 20 mm.
The double louis, on the other hand, is missing from several series. According to Numista, it exists under Louis XIII; under Louis XIV for the shield, four Ls, insignia and sun types; under Louis XV for the headband, old head and mirliton; and under Louis XVI for both of his types. With square shields, it measures about 28 mm.
The 4, 8 and 10 louis pieces that left the Paris Mint in 1640 are a separate case: ceremonial coins that were not used for ordinary payments.
In the 1690s, instead of melting louis down, the mints often restruck them with a new design: this was the time of the réformations. It is not unusual to make out letters or an outline of the old type beneath the newer one. The catalogues describe this; it does not betray modern manufacture.
Many louis also ended up as jewellery. Visible solder on the edge, the trace of a loop or a filled hole: these marks sharply reduce collector interest, without taking away the coin's authenticity.
Then there are copies, in low-grade gold or gilt metal. Weigh to the hundredth of a gram, measure the diameter and study how crisp the lettering is.
Wear first attacks the relief of the portrait: the locks above the ear, the laurel wreath or headband, the cheek. On Louis XV and Louis XVI, the curls of the hair are the first to fade.
On the reverse, look at the crowns above the Ls or shields. If their pearls no longer stand apart, the coin has circulated for a long time. The lilies on the shields lose their sharpness at the same pace.
Rubbing or cleaning leaves a web of very fine scratches and costs one grade or more, so leave the coin as it is and show it to a numismatist. For a valuation, see our coin valuation page.
Off Cannes, the island of Sainte-Marguerite still has its royal fort, which Vauban inspected in 1682 and again in 1692; works based on his proposals began in June 1693. In 1687, Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars became its governor and brought his masked prisoner with him, who stayed on the island until both left for the Bastille in 1698. During that stay, the louis struck in the name of Louis XIV included the shield type (1690-1693) and then the four Ls (1693-1700), in the years of the réformations. The louis that turn up today in family estates along this coast could have been struck at any mint in the kingdom: only the mint letter tells. For gold of the following century, see the Napoleon III 20 francs gold coin.
On many types it is engraved below the bust, close to the mint letter. If you cannot see it on the obverse, look on the reverse, around the letter.
It depends on the reign: Jean Warin for Louis XIII and the young Louis XIV, the Roettiers for the sun louis and some Louis XV types, Pierre-Benjamin Duvivier for Louis XVI. His signature DUVIV can be read below the bust.
No. Cleaning leaves fine scratches that lower the grade of the coin. Show it as it is to a numismatist.
Yes, its fineness stays at 917‰ from one reign to the next. It is the weight and the design, not the fineness, that change with the reforms.