Louis XIII (1610-1643). Gold Ecu d'or, 1642-A, Paris. Hammered coinage. Crowned arms of France. Rev. Lobed floriated cross (Fr 398; Gadoury 55; KM 41.1). In NGC holder graded AU 58, much original luster remaining. Value $900 - UP
Following the assassination of Henry IV in 1610, his 10-year-old son was crowned King of France as Louis XIII. Too young to reign in his own right, the government was placed in the hands of his mother and mismanaged by her Italian favorites. At last, in 1617, Louis XIII came of age and took power into his own hands, exiling his mother and executing her associates. With the assistance of advisors like Charles d'Albert and especially Cardinal Richelieu, the young king concentrated power in the crown at the expense of the French nobility and became the first true absolute monarch in Europe. As part of this centralizing process, Louis XIII abandoned his father's previous conciliatory policies towards the Protestant Huguenots, and actively developed the education system in France by founding the Académie française. Despite the changes in the character of the French monarchy under Louis XIII, his coinage was rather conservative. The écu d'or ("gold shield") and its half continued to feature the usual types of his predecessors, a crowned shield bearing the fleurs-de-lis arms of France on the obverse and a floriate cross on the reverse.