1 Ecu

1514, Royal France, Louis XII. Beautiful Gold "Ecu" (with Sun!) Coin. NGC AU-58!

Mint Place: Amiens
Mint Period. 1498-1514
Ruler (King) : Louis XII of Valois
References: Friedberg 323, Duplessy 647. R!
Condition: Certified and graded by NGC as AU-58!
Denomination: Écu d'or au solei ("Gold Ecu with Sun")
Diameter: 27mm
Weight: 3.37gm
Material: Gold!

Obverse: Sun above crowned shield with triple lis inside (royal arms of France).
Legend: (crowned lis) ° LVDOVICVS °° dEI °° GRACIA °° FRANCORV : REX (privy mark: *)

Reverse: Cross fleurée, lis in alternating quarters and flower at center.
Legend: (crowned lis) ° XPS °° VINCIT °° XPS °° REGNAT °° XPS °° IMPERAT (privy mark: *)

Louis XII (27 June 1462 - 1 January 1515) was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his cousin Charles VIII, who died without a living heir in 1498.

Before his accession to the throne of France, he was known as Louis of Orléans and was compelled to be married to his handicapped and sterile cousin Joan by his uncle, king Louis XI. By doing so, Louis XI hoped to extinguish the Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois.

Louis of Orléans was one of the great feudal lords who opposed the French monarchy in the conflict known as the Mad War. At the royal victory in the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier in 1488, Louis was captured, but Charles VIII pardoned him and released him. He subsequently took part in the Italian War of 1494-1498 as one of the French commanders.

When Louis XII became king in 1498, he had his marriage with Joan annulled by Pope Alexander VI and instead married Anne of Brittany, the widow of his cousin Charles VIII. This marriage allowed Louis to reinforce the personal Union of Brittany and France.

Louis persevered in the Italian Wars, initiating a second Italian campaign for the control of the Kingdom of Naples. Louis conquered the Duchy of Milan in 1500 and pushed forward to the Kingdom of Naples, which fell to him in 1501. Proclaimed King of Naples, Louis faced a new coalition gathered by Ferdinand II of Aragon and was forced to cede Naples to Spain in 1504.

Louis XII did not encroach on the power of local governments or the privileges of the nobility, in opposition with the long tradition of the French kings to impose an absolute monarchy in France. A popular king, Louis was proclaimed "Father of the People" (French: Le Pére du Peuple) in 1506 by the Estates-General of Tours for his reduction of the tax known as taille, legal reforms, and civil peace within France.

Louis, who remained Duke of Milan after the second Italian War, was interested in further expansion in the Italian Peninsula and launched a third Italian War (1508-1516), which was marked by the military prowess of the Chevalier de Bayard.

Louis XII died in 1515 without a male heir. He was succeeded by his cousin Francis from the Angoulême cadet branch of the House of Valois.