The termécu(French pronunciation:[eky]) may refer to one of severalFrenchcoins.[1]The firstécuwas agoldcoin (theécu d'or) minted during the reign ofLouis IX of France,in 1266. The value of theécuvaried considerably over time, andsilvercoins (known asécu d'argent) were also introduced.
Écu(fromLatinscutum) means shield, and the coin was so called because its design included thecoat of arms of France.The word is related to theCatalanescut,Italianscudo,orPortugueseandCastilianescudo.In English, theécuwas often referred to as thecrown,[2]or theFrench crownin the eras of theEnglish crown,British crown,andother crowns.
History
editOrigin
editWhen Louis IX took the throne, France still used small silverdeniers(abbreviatedd.), which had circulated since the time of Charlemagne to the exclusion of larger silver or gold coins. Over the years, French kings had granted numerous nobles and bishops the right to strike coins and their “feudal” coinages competed with the royal coinage. Venice and Florence had already shown that there was demand for larger silver and gold coins and in 1266 Louis IX sought an advantage for the royal coinage by expanding it in these areas.[3]His goldécu d'orshowed a shield strewn with fleur-de-lis, which was thecoat of arms of the kings of Franceat the time. These coins were valued as if gold was worth only 10 times as much as silver, an unrealistic ratio whichEdward III of Englandhad unsuccessfully tried to use. It failed again, Louis IX's silver coins were a great success but his gold was not accepted at this rate and his successor discontinued gold coinage.[4]
Écu d'or
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Philip IV reintroduced gold coinage to France in 1296 and began a sequence of extravagantly designed but rapidly changing types. These coins were generally named for their obverse design, and theécu à la chaisewhich Philip VI introduced in 1337 showed a shield with the coat of arms of the kings of France beside the seated king. Philip VI spent vast quantities of these coins subsidizing his allies in the Netherlands at the outset of theHundred Years' War,and this coin was widely copied in the Netherlands.[5]
Charles VI ended the practice of frequently changing gold coin designs (but not that of tampering with their weight and value) with hisécu à la couronnein 1385. This is again named after the shield on the obverse, which now has a crown above it and themodern coat of arms of the kings of Francewith three fleur-de-lis. Charles VI's father had scored major gains against the English but had passed the cost on to his children. The government of the child Charles VI abandoned his father's sound money policy by replacing his gold francà cheval.The newécu à la couronneweighed less than the franc but its value was increased from 1livre(₶.), i.e. 20sous(abbr.s), for the franc to 22s.6d.(i.e.1₶.2s.6d.) for theécu.Not only was this a devaluation, but while the franc had been identified with its valuation of one livre the valuation of theécu à la couronnewas subject to manipulation.[6]
In 1475, Louis XI created a variant of theécu à la couronnecalled anécu au soleilbecause the Sun now appeared above the shield. The process of devaluation continued. In 1515 theécu au soleilwas valued at 36s.9d.,but this was increased to 45s.by 1547 even though its weight and fineness had been decreased in 1519.[7]Theécudesign continued, essentially unchanged, on French gold coins until 1640 when thelouis d’orreplaced it.[8]
In the second half of the 1500s gold and silver imported from Spanish America impacted the French economy, but the king of France was not getting much of the new wealth. He responded by revaluing theécu d’orin stages from 45s.in 1547 to 60s.,i.e. 3₶.,in 1577. This exacerbated the inflation caused by the increase in the supply of gold and silver, and theEstates General,which met at Blois in 1576, added to the public pressure to stop currency manipulation.
In 1577,Henri IIIagreed to stabilize theécu d’orat 3₶.and to adopt a new monetary system with prices quoted inécus.As part of this system, he introduced quarter and eighthécucoins struck in silver. The types of quarter and eighthécus d'argentparalleled those of theécu d’or,with the royal arms on the obverse and a cross on the reverse. For the first time in French history, these coins had a mark of value, with IIII or VIII placed on either side of the shield.[9]Royal coins struck at mints inNavarreandBéarnadded local heraldry to the fleur-de-lis of France. Feudal coinages atBouillonandSedan,Château-Renaud,andRethelalso struck quarterécus,with their own arms replacing the royal arms.[10]By the 17th century thisécu d’orwould rise in value from 3₶.to more than 5₶.,while the hammered silver quarterécustruck until 1646 would rise in value from 15s.to 1₶.[11]
Silver Louis or écu of 1641
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This still did not give France a coin which could compete with thethalerswhich were popular in Germany. Moreover, French coins were still made by hand, so precious metal could beillegally shaved from the edgesof the coins before passing them on. Finally, theécu d’orwas made of 23 carat gold, which was not the international standard.Louis XIIIfixed all this. He installed coinage making machinery in the Paris mint and replaced theécu d’orwith theLouis d'orin 1640. In 1641 he introduced a thaler-sized silver coin originally called aLouis d’argent,issued at 9 to a French Mark of silver, 11/12 fine (24.93 g fine silver), and valued at threelivres tournois- the same value in which the écud’orwas stabilized in 1577. This new 3₶.coin also came to be called anécu.
Silver écu of 1726
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From 1690 to 1725 rates were unstable, resulting in the discontinuation of theLouis d'argentin favor of the new silverécu.In 1726 it was first issued at issued 8.3 to a French Mark of silver, 11/12 fine (or 27.03 g fine silver), and valued at 6₶.The silverécuwas further broken down into a1⁄8value coin (huitième d'écu), a1⁄4value coin (thequart d'écu) and a1⁄2value coin (thedemi-écu). All had the king's bust on the obverse and the royal coat of arms on the reverse.
This silver écu was known as thelaubthalerin Germany. It circulated in Southern Germany at 2.8South German gulden.[12]In Switzerland it was worth four Berne livres or fourfrancsof the Helvetic Republic.[13]For more on the 17th-18th centuries currency system, seeLouis d'or,livre tournoisandItalian scudo.
French Revolution
editThe silverécudisappeared during theFrench Revolutionand was replaced by thefrancat the rate of 6₶.= 6/1.0125 or 5.93 francs. At 4.5 g fine silver per franc this implied each écu contained only 26.66 g fine silver.
But the 5-franc silver coins minted throughout the 19th century were just a continuation of the oldécus,and were often still calledécuby French people. Theécu,as it existed immediately before theFrench Revolution,was approximately equivalent (in terms of purchasing power) to 24euroor 30U.S. dollarsin 2017.[citation needed]
References in novels
editThe Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics - by Alexandre Dumas -translated by Robin Buss) “The speculators were the richer by eight hundred thousand écus.” (Page 179)
References
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- ^R. L. in Palgrave, Robert Harry Inglis, ed. (1901).Dictionary of political economy,Volume 1Archived2024-01-04 at theWayback Machine.London: Macmillan.OCLC562733020.
- ^Ede, James (1808).A View of the Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations(2nd ed.). London: J. M. Richardson.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-01-04.Retrieved2020-10-24.
- ^Coins In History, John Porteous, page 89.
- ^Coins In History, John Porteous, page 93
- ^Coins of Medieval Europe, Philip Grierson, pages 143, 159, and 176
- ^Coins of Medieval Europe, Philip Grierson, page 144
- ^Coins in History, John Porteous, page 164.
- ^Gold Coins of the World, Robert Friedberg
- ^Coins In History, John Porteous, page 182.
- ^The Silver Coins of Medieval France, James Roberts, page 341
- ^Coins In History, John Porteous, page 210.
- ^Shaw, William Arthur (1896)."The History of Currency, 1252-1894: Being an Account of the Gold and Silver Moneys and Monetary Standards of Europe and America, Together with an Examination of the Effects of Currency and Exchange Phenomena on Commercial and National Progress and Well-being".Archivedfrom the original on 2024-01-04.Retrieved2021-05-13.
- ^Audin, Jean-Marie-Vincent (1843).Manuel du voyageur en Suisse: suivi du Guide complet dans le Tyrol[...](in French). Maison.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-01-04.Retrieved2023-03-24.