Denomination: Ecu Mint Place: Bordeaux (K) Mint year: 1694 (struck on 1691 dated issue!) References: Davenport 3813, Dupl.1520A, Gadoury 217, KM-298.11. Condition: Marginal dark oxidation deposits, numerous small scratches and digs, otherwise a nicely toned VF-aXF. Material: Silver (.917) Weight: 26.92gm Diameter: 41mm
Obverse: Mailed bust of the Sun King ("le Roi Soleil") - Louis XIV right. Legend: LVD XIIII DG FR ET NAV REX (privy mark: sun)
Reverse: Crowned round shield with arms of Royal France (three lis) within wreath. Mint initial (B) below. Legend: SIT . NOMEN . DOMINI . (K) . BENEDICTVM . 1693 (privy mark: crescent)
Louis XIV (5 September 1638 - 1 September 1715) ruled as King of France and of Navarre. He ascended the throne a few months before his fifth birthday, but did not assume actual personal control of the government until the death of his prime minister (Premier ministre), the Italian Jules Cardinal Mazarin, in 1661. Louis remained on the throne until his death in September 1715, four days before his seventy-seventh birthday. His reign lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days, the longest documented for any European monarch to date.