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1545, Royal France, Francis I. Scarce Copper Denier Tournois Coin. Paris mint?

Mint Place: Paris? References: Dy.869 Mint Period: 1515-1545  Denomination: Ecu d'or au soleil ("Gold Ecu with Sun") Condition: Crudely struck on a smallish planchet, otherwise F-VF/VG+ Material: Copper Diameter: 16mm Weight: 0.79gm

Obverse: French Royal arms three fleur-de-lis symbols within trefoil. Three annullets in outer fields. Legend:  (privy mark: royal lis symbol)  FRANCISCVS FRANCORVM REX

Reverse: Cross within quatrefoil.

Francis I (French: François Ier; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547), was king of France from 1515 until his death.

Francis I is considered to be France's first Renaissance monarch. His reign saw France make immense cultural advances. He was a c ontemporary of Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire, with whom he was allied in a Franco-Ottoman alliance, as well as of Henry VIII of England and of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, his great rivals.

Francis' legacy is generally considered a mixed one. He achieved great cultural feats, but they came at the expense of France's economic well-being.

The persecution of the Protestants was to lead France into decades of civil war, which did not end until 1598 with the Edict of Nantes.