Written by the Maison Or & Bijoux Le Havre team · updated
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Gold | 22 carats, 917‰ |
| Weight of one louis | About 6.75 g before 1709; 8.158 g (1709-1715, 1726-1785); 7.649 g after 1785; varying weights in 1716-1725 |
| Diameter | About 22 to 26 mm |
| Issued | 1640-1792; until 1793 for the constitutional louis |
| Denominations | Half louis, louis and double louis; 4, 8 and 10 louis pieces (1640) |
| Mints | A (Paris), B (Rouen), D (Lyon), K (Bordeaux), T (Nantes), W (Lille), & (Aix), BB (Strasbourg) and about twenty others |
What first tells two louis d'or apart is often their weight: about 6.75 g, 8.158 g or 7.649 g depending on the reform in force, and less expected figures under the Regency. The fineness, by contrast, stayed at 22 carats from 1640 to 1792. An accurate scale, a loupe and this guide are enough to place most coins found in a family estate.
A bust or head of the king, surrounded by a Latin legend. The profiles of Louis XIII and Louis XIV mostly look right, those of Louis XV and Louis XVI left. The legend starts with the name and number, LVD. XIIII for instance, followed by “D. G. FR. ET NAV. REX”: by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre. The date and mint are often found under the portrait.
The design dates the coin: a cross of eight Ls under crowns (Louis XIII, then several Louis XIV types up to the sun louis), four Ls, four lilies or royal insignia, and finally the shields of France and Navarre, oval (spectacles type) and later square (1785-1792). The legend “CHRS. REGN. VINC. IMP.”, abbreviating “Christus regnat, vincit, imperat”, returns on nearly all of them.
Start with the weight column: it is the quickest check. The figures are the legal weights recorded by Numista. Then identify the type from the reverse; depending on the mint, the first and last years of a given type may vary a little.
| Years | Type | Reign | Weight | Distinctive sign |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1640-1643 | Cross of eight Ls (first louis) | Louis XIII | 6.752 g | Cross of eight Ls on the reverse |
| 1643-1656 | Short lock (mèche courte) | Louis XIV | 6.751 g | Lyon alone after 1645 |
| 1646-1660 | Long lock (mèche longue) | Louis XIV | 6.751 g | Long curl on the shoulder |
| 1668-1683 | Bare head, large head | Louis XIV | 6.751 g | Large head of the adult king |
| 1690-1693 | Shield type (à l'écu) | Louis XIV | 6.751 g | Often restruck (réformation) |
| 1693-1700 | Four Ls (quatre L) | Louis XIV | 6.751 g | Four Ls, cross of lilies |
| 1700-1703 | Eight Ls with insignia | Louis XIV | 6.751 g | Royal insignia between the Ls |
| 1704-1709 | Insignia (aux insignes) | Louis XIV | 6.751 g | Short or long hair |
| 1709-1715 | Sun (au soleil) | Louis XIV | 8.158 g | Sun at the centre of the cross |
| 1716 | Insignia | Louis XV | 8.158 g | Two types in the year |
| 1716-1718 | Noailles louis | Louis XV | 12.235 g | Record weight |
| 1718-1719 | Cross of the Holy Spirit | Louis XV | 9.79 g | John Law's system |
| 1720-1723 | Two Ls (deux L) | Louis XV | 9.79 g | Two entwined Ls |
| 1723-1725 | Mirliton | Louis XV | 6.525 g | Short or large palms |
| 1726-1740 | Spectacles (aux lunettes) | Louis XV | 8.158 g | Oval shields |
| 1740-1774 | Headband (au bandeau) | Louis XV | 8.158 g | Headband in the hair |
| 1771-1774 | Old head (vieille tête) | Louis XV | 8.158 g | Aged king |
| 1774 | Palms (aux palmes) | Louis XVI | 8.158 g | 1774 only |
| 1774-1785 | Spectacles (aux lunettes) | Louis XVI | 8.158 g | Bust in an embroidered coat |
| 1785-1792 | Bare head (tête nue) | Louis XVI | 7.649 g | Square shields side by side |
| 1792-1793 | Constitutional louis | Louis XVI | 7.649 g | 24 livres |
Source: the Numista catalogue, with its references to Gadoury, Duplessy and Clairand. Neither the many Louis XIV busts between 1660 and 1690 nor the louis intended for Béarn are listed here.
Put the louis on a scale reading to a hundredth of a gram. Three figures come up most often, and each points to a period.
Between 1716 and 1725, the Regency and John Law's system blur the picture: 12.235 g for the Noailles louis, around 9.79 g for the two Ls and the Holy Spirit cross, 6.525 g for the mirliton.
A louis clearly too light for its type is not necessarily false. It may have been clipped, worn, or holed and plugged: only a careful examination will tell. The screw press, used from 1640, gave regular blanks, which makes clipping easier to see.
Once the period is known, the portrait names the king. Profile to the right: Louis XIII or Louis XIV. Profile to the left: Louis XV or Louis XVI. The number after LVD removes any doubt.
The reverse pins down the type. The cross of crowned Ls dominates under Louis XIII and Louis XIV, with a sun at its centre from 1709. The two oval shields of the “spectacles” louis appear in 1726. Square shields side by side mark a louis of 1785 or later.
The mint letter shows the town where the coin was struck. Depending on the type, it is read below the bust, at the heart of the cross or below the shields. The most common: A for Paris, D for Lyon, K for Bordeaux, T for Nantes, W for Lille, & for Aix.
In Normandy, the letter to know is the B of Rouen. The Rouen mint was still striking louis under Louis XVI: Coinvarieties, after Frédéric Droulers's repertory, counts 418,848 bare-head louis dated 1786 B. For the history of this mint, see our page on the Rouen mint.
One design, three sizes. The half louis is half the weight of a louis of the same period (3.376 g before 1709, then about 4.08 g under the sun, spectacles and headband types) and measures around 20 mm. Not every series had its double louis: Numista records it for Louis XIII, four Louis XIV types, three of Louis XV and both of Louis XVI; the square-shield double is about 28 mm across. The 4, 8 and 10 louis struck in Paris in 1640 remained ceremonial pieces.
Many louis were turned into brooches or pendants. A removed loop, solder on the edge or a plugged hole clearly reduces their interest to a collector. Keep the coin as it is, without repairs.
Lastly, there are copies in base gold or simply gilt. Weight to the hundredth, diameter and the fineness of the lettering are the first checks. Traces of an earlier design beneath the type, common in the 1690s, come instead from the réformations, when the mints restruck existing louis.
The highest relief wears first: above the ear, on the laurel or headband, on the cheek. With Louis XV and Louis XVI, the hair loses its locks before the face flattens.
On the reverse, count the pearls of the crowns over the Ls or shields: distinct, the coin has seen little use; merged, it has circulated a lot. The lilies on the shields lose their crispness too.
Avoid any cleaning, which leaves marks and lowers the grade. To have your coin looked at, see our coin valuation page.
On 27 June 1786, Louis XVI, on his way back from Cherbourg, crossed from Honfleur to Le Havre to inspect the harbour works; the next day, according to a contemporary account transcribed in an archive catalogue, he attended the launch of a ship given his name. It was during this stay that he approved the plan to enlarge the town, entrusted to François Laurent Lamandé. The louis of that year are the bare-head type born of the 1785 reform, like the 1786 coin shown on this page. In the province, the Rouen mint, letter B, struck more than 400,000 of them that same year according to published records.
That weight matches the louis reformed in 1785 (7.649 g), with the bare head and square shields, struck until 1792. Check the reverse for the two square shields.
Yes, B is the letter of the Rouen mint. Do not confuse it with BB, the mark of the Strasbourg mint.
It is the signature of the engraver Pierre-Benjamin Duvivier, who made the portraits of Louis XVI on the louis.
Yes. Only weight and diameter set them apart: its weight is half that of the louis of its day, for about 20 mm.