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A Louis d'or is a French gold coin, first introduced by Louis XIII in 1640, featuring a depiction of the head of a King Louis on one side of the coin, from which its name derives. The coin was replaced by the French franc at the time of the revolution and later by the similarly valued Napoléon.

This picture shows a coin worth two Louis d'or, minted in 1717, during the reign of Louis XV. During his rule, mintage of the coin was reduced at first while John Law introduced paper money. After Law's system failed, France returned to a policy of sound money and the mintage of the Louis d'or returned to previous levels, with the weight of a coin being increased from 6.75 g (0.238 oz) to 8.1580 g (0.288 oz). The obverse (left) features the king's head in profile and an abbreviated Latin inscription translating to 'Louis XV, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre', while the reverse (right) features two French and two Navarrese coats of arms, each surmounted by a crown, and four fleurs-de-lis, with the abbreviated Latin for 'Christ reigns, conquers, commands'. This coin is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

Other Louis d'or coins: Louis XIII, Louis XIV, Louis XVICoin design credit: Norbert Roettiers; photographed by the National Numismatic Collection

See also

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