In general, it can not be said that French royal coins are easy to decipher and understand. After several centuries of existence, they are often in states of conservation that make their reading difficult, but above all they are a reflection of the evolution of the historical, economic, cultural and technical state of the country over time; they are therefore most often written in Latin with forms of writing that have disappeared today, many brands, signs, "different" symbols, and many different features that make them true coded objects. And it is precisely one of the pleasures of the numismatist to decipher the currencies. We give below some elements that allow to decode the royal coins.
Between the accession to the throne of the first king of France, Hugh Capet, in 987 AD and the death of Louis XVI, January 21, 1793, eight centuries of monetary history have passed and many changes have taken place. The oldest coins were struck by hand, with a hammer, on thin strips of metal, the thickness of which was always less than a millimeter.
These light coins, the deniers and the obols, were easily folded and consisted of a mixture of silver and copper. With the passage of time, the oxidation of copper has often transformed currencies that were initially white into black currencies.
Because of their traditional way of manufacturing, the pieces often have an irregular shape and the crushing of the metal during the striking could cause cracks on the edges of the currencies. In addition, the double blow of hammer necessary to the manufacture of the larger pieces sometimes provoked a "tréflage", that is to say a double marking slightly offset of the print of the currency.
From the 13th century, coins made of silver and gold made their appearance among the French royal coins. These high-value coins have often been made with much greater care than the small black coins for the daily use of the people. These currencies had to leave the workshops with a well calibrated weight. If the weight of the piece was greater than the tolerance, the coiners were allowed to file them to adjust their weight. Also some currencies of adjustment are seen on certain currencies.
Under the reign of Louis XIV, to avoid the expense of manufacturing new blanks, it has happened that new coins are struck on old coins: it is about so-called Reformed currencies. But the new strike did not completely erase the old imprint, and so we see pieces that are like a palimpsest: we guess the old currency under the new.
It should be added that in addition to these manufacturing features, the currencies often had a very long use, which resulted in wear (the "spawning") very important. In addition many currencies were manhandled at the time by money changers, billonneurs and other trimmers who often scratched the blank parts to recover some precious metal. If we add to this, for some currencies, a stay of several centuries underground we understand that many pieces have reached us in poor conservation states.
On a technical level, the major change in coin production is the use of mechanical force, which has gradually replaced the use of hammers to strike parts. The first tests of use of balance presses took place during the reign of Henry II (1547-1559), but it is with the manufacture of double-tournaments of copper, at the end of the 16th century, that truly begins the mechanized production of coins (see Coins and Detections No. 64, June-July 2012, article "The most common French royal money: the double tournaments").
Under the reign of Louis XIV, 1643 to 1715, the striking on the pendulum is generalized to all currencies, whether the Louis d'Or or the Ecus d'Argent. The result is an immense progress in the quality of the coins made: from now on, the coins are well round and the strength of the machine makes it possible to manufacture large currencies with legends and effigies perfectly printed on the metal.
Coins are minted on both sides and all carry circular legends and images in the field. The legend was generally inscribed between two girdles or linear circles. The use of the girdle or inner linear circle was abandoned from the 16th century.
These circles are directly related to the making of currencies. The engraver began by drawing on the compass the outer circle, then the inner circle which gave him the limits to engrave the legend with letters of good height and the central figure