Ecu d'or au soleil (25 April 1498), 25 mm, 3.4gr. Obv: LVDOVICVS:DEI:GRA:FRANCORVM:REX, central shield with three fleur de lis, surmounted by a crown and sun. Dot between the top two lis in the shield. Rev: XPS:VINCIT:XPS:REGNAT:XPS:IMPERAT:b, croix fleurdelise avex quadrilobe en cour. Coin is shaved. Mint is La Rochelle? pt 9.Louis formally came to power April 8 1498 so this is among his first issues. D647, C900.

Louis was a cousin of Charles VIII and married Anne of Bretagne, wife of the previous king Charles VIII. Their daughter, Claude, became the wife of Louis' successor, Francois I.  His first marriage to Jeanne of France was annulled, accompanied by a generous pension, so this could happen. After the death of Anne, Louis reconciled with Henri VIII by marrying his sister, Mary (Marie). Louis focussed on the structure of law in France, and promulgated the grand ordinance de Blois in 1499.

Internal strife in France receded after the expulsion of the English in the mid 1400s. Louis continued to play on the larger European stage, continuing the interventions in Italy started by Charles VIII.

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Grand Blanc a la Couronne, 27mm, 2.15gr. Obv: LVDOVICVS*FRANCORVM*REX, the legend starts with a crown on a lis. Shield with three lis, topped by a crown, with two side crowns in a trilobe. Obv: SIT*NOMEN*DNI*BENEDICTV. The legend possibly ends with a Lyon mint mark. Cross with two lis and two crowns.   D664, C928. Contemporary English coins: Henry VII and Henry VIII.

Louis and his queen, Anne of Bretegne, share the grandest tomb in St. Denis, burial place of the French kings. He and Anne are praying at the top. His image is to the right and underneath is detail of the tomb itself.

**

Francis 1 (1515-1547)

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AU ecu d'or, 25mm, 3.37gr, 2nd type, 1st emission, 23 January 1515, theoretical weight 3.49g. Obv: +FRANCIS:DEI:GRA:FRANCORVM:REX, center shield with three lis, surmounted by a crown. Rev: XPS:VINCIT:XPS:REGNAT:XPS:IMPERAT, cross with crowned F in 2nd and 4th quadrant. Mint unclear, seller says Lyon, I think La Rochelle, pt. 9.. D771, C1071.

Cousin of Louis X11, and married to his daughter, Francis I was known as a man of arts and letters. He was responsible for bringing Leonardo daVinci to the French court. Leonardo brought the Mona Lisa, which remains in the Louvre to this day. He built royal chateaux in the Loire and south of Paris, including Blois, Chambord, Fountainbleau and St.-Germain-en-Laye. His son became Henri II. He also initiated religious prosecution of emerging protestantism as heretical and a threat to the state.

Francis remained involved in the Italian peninsula, intervened in the succession of the Holy Roman Empire and became involved in the internal affairs of Spain. France was emerging as a major European nation state, playing a growing role on the continent. He entered treaties with Suliman the Magnificent and made peace with Henry VIII.

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Grand Blanc a la Couronne, 1st type, 1515, 26mm, 2.32gr. Obv: +FRANCISCVS:FRANCORVM:REX, shield with three lis, topped by crown, crowns on either side. Rev: (lis)SIT:NOMEN:DNI:BENEDICTVM, cross with two lis and two crowns in quadrants. Mint mark under 'R' in rev, pt 20, St Andre de Villenueve les Avignon. D835 (and varieties), C1157/8. Contemporary English coin: Henry VIII.

AR Douzain aux Croissants, 155x, first 25mm, 2.43gr, second 27mm, 2.37gr. Obv: +HENRICVS.2.DEI.GRA.FRANCOR.REX, shield with three lis, sides with crown over crescent. Rev: +SIT.NOMEN.DNI.BENEDICTVM.155x. The first coin has a B under the shield, indicating the mint is Rouen. For the second, mint uncertain - pt 11 on the reverse, fat , under the shield on the obverse - Limoges? D997, C1305. Contemporary English coins: Edward VI,  Mary and Elizabeth I.
The son of  Francis I becomes king in 1547. He was an ineffective ruler ('not over endowed with brains' says Horne) who married Catherine de Medici, reflecting continued French interest in Italy. He was responsible for substantial expansion of the Louvre. His mistress, Diane of Poitiers, is delightfully immortalized in one of the grand halls of the palace.  He contested with Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles' son, Philippe II of Spain, and the English, now ruled by Mary Tudor. None of this strengthened France. Henri was killed accidentally in a joust by the captain of his guard, Montgomery, in the Marais of Pairs (now the 4eme).

Tolerance or suppression of emerging protestantism became a major domestic and international force in European politics in the second half of the century, and French kings had to deal with the ensuing civil strife this religious reform caused. Now to the mix of territorial ambitions, the element of religious preference came to play a role. In 1559 England renounced its claim on Calais, the last English holding in France. France gave up its ambitions in Italy.

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AR douzain, 25mm, 2.47gr. Obv: +HENRICVS.2.DEI.GRA.FRANCOR.REX, ecu de France accostes de deux croissants couronne, nom de atelier sous l'ecu. Rev: +SIT.NOMEN.DNI.BENEDICTVM.(date - 1551?). Mint is Paris (A). This type of coin dates from 1547-58). D 997; C 1305 (as billon).

Henri is buried at St. Denis, outside of Paris. Here is the effigy from his tomb.

Francis II (1559-60)

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AR teston, 1559, 28.5mm, 9.51gr. Obv: HENRICVS.II.D.G.FRABCOR.REX, portrait right. (All Francis' coinage bore Henri II's inscription.) Rev: +XPS.VINCIT.XPS.REGNAT.XPS.IMPE, central shield with three lis, topped by large crown, bracketed by smaller ‘H' topped by crown. K under shield. Mint is Bordeaux. D. 1033, C1335. Contemporary English coin: Elizabeth I.

Francis was born in 1544 at Fountainbleau, the first son of Henri II and Catherine de Medici. His mother was the dominant force in his life, and the life of France. He came to the throne at age 15 on his father's death.  He was engaged at six years of age to Marie Stuart,  the daughter of James V of Scotland, who was five at the time.  He married her, and they had no children. He died of meningitis in December 1560, a year after he became king.

As with contemporary French kings, his brief reign was concerned with internal religious strife and the efforts to suppress a growing Protestant movement. Horne characterizes his reign as "one of the shortest and most wretched in French history." Most interestingly, in terms of the relations between the English and the French, after his death Mary Stuart remarried and her son became James I of England. She got caught up in the religious conflicts in England and died for it.

Douzain, 2nd type, 1574, 23.5mm, 2.26gr. Obv: D.G.FRANC.REX.CAROLVS.IX, shield with three lis, surmounted by large crown, shield bracketed by the letter ‘C.' Rev: +SIT.NOMEN.DOMINI.BENEDIC, cross with two lis and two crowns in the quadrants. Mint is Rouen - B under shield. C1386,  D1088. Contemporary English coin: Elizabeth I.

He was the second son of Henri II and married Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of Maximilien II, HRE. His reign was characterized by religious strife, including what was effectively civil war, centered in Orleans, starting in 1562. His concerns were primarily internal and centered on containing protestantism.

Catherine de Medici, queen mother, unsuccessfully tried to contain the growing violence, before agreeing with Charles to suppress protestantism. The upshot was the St. Bartholomew Day Massacre on August 18, 1572, sponsored by the royals, but spread throughout Paris and other parts of France. Thousands were killed. Henri of Navarre, the future Henri IV, escaped by promising to return to Catholicism. Many Huguenots fled and found sympathy in England. For additional background visit the siege of Paris page for these religious conflicts.

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AR demi teston, 1566, 25mm, 5.54gr. Obv: CAROLOVS VIIII D.G. FRANC ...?, bust left. Rev: SIT:NOMEN:BENEDIC ... CDLXVI, central crown bracketed by small crown and 'c,' with 'H' at base of crown. Mint is LaRochelle. Not clearly in C or D, close to D1067.

Douzain,  (1575-89), 25mm, 2.2gr. Obv: D.G.FRAN.ET.POL.REX.HENRICVS.III, shield with three lis, surmounted by large crown, shield bracketed by the letter ‘H.' Rev: +SIT.NOMEN.DNI.BENEDICT, cross with two lis and two H's in the quadrants. Mint is Rouen - B under shield. Youngest hammered coin on the site. D1140, C1450. Contemporary English coin: Elizabeth I.

The third son of Henri II married Louise of  Lorraine. Horne characterizes him as "one of France's more bizarre monarchs" for among other things, "the ocasional practice of appearing at official functions in drag."  His major concern was resolving religious strife and insuring an orderly succession. He offered concessions to the Huguenots, but was met by a Catholic backlash that put forward an alternative to Henri of Navarre as successor king. The Catholic League candidate was supported by the pope, an unwise move and one that led to a weakening of the Catholic position. Henri was murdered by a Dominican Catholic League member. The Valois line died with him. For Paris, he initiated the construction of the Pont Neuf, completed by his successor.

Religious turmoil dominated the European political scene. Catholic Spain launched the armada against England . In France the CL sought to violently suppress protestantism.

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Copper double tournois, 1580, 22mm, 3.1gr. Obv: HENRI.III.R.DE.FRAN.ET.POL, bust right, Paris mint mark. Rev: +DOUBLE TOVRNOIS 1580, three lis in a central circle. D1152b, C1469. Facial features worn. Oldest milled coin on the site.

AR 1/8 ecu, 25m, 4.48gr. Obv: CAROLVS.X.D.G.FRANC.REX, central fleur d'lis cross. Legend starts at 9 o'clock. Rev: SIT.NOMEN.DOMINI.BENEDICTVM, central crowned ecu de France, bracketed by V and III. Pt 14 under N on the reverse. Dup 1178, C 1489.

The Catholic League dates from 1576 and was the center of the strong anti-Catholic reaction to growing Protestantism. It was headed by duc Henri de Guise. The League took control of Paris, among other places, and set itself against both the king and the more moderate Catholic nobility. Duc Henri was assassinated in 1588 at the Blois Chateau of Catherine de Medici. This, in turn, probably triggered the assassination of Henri III as year later. Guise’s brother, Charles of Lorraine, succeeded him in leadership of the League and appointed the Cardinal de Bourbon, now an old man, pretender king of France. As it happened, the Cardinal was already a prisoner of Henri IV. The cardinal was never a serious threat to Henri and died in his control during the subsequent siege of Paris. (Source: Horne 69-73)

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Douzain,  postumous, 1593, 22mm, 1.95gr. Obv: CAROLVS.X.D.G.FRANC.REX, ecu de France couronne. bracketed by two 'C.' Rev: +SIT.NOMEN.DNI.BENEDICTVM, central cross with a crown in each quadrant. Mint is Dijon - D under obverse shield. D 1180.