1 Ecu Kingdom of France (843-1791) Gold Francis I of France (1494 ...

Mint Place: Lyon 

Mint Period: 1515-1545 

References: Friedberg 347, Duplessy 775.

Denomination: Ecu

Diameter: 36mm 

Weight: 3.29gm 

Material: Gold! 

Obverse: Sun above crowned shield with french royal arms (three lis). 

Legend: + FRANCISCVS: DEI. GRA. FRANCORVM. REX (privy mark: clover) 

Reverse: Ornate cross with fleur de lis terminals and rosette center. Two lis and two large letters F (for Francois) in fields. + XPS VINCIT. XPS: REGNAT. XPS: IMPERAT (privy mark: clover) 

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.