This week Godot & Fils brings you a selection of reformed coins of King Louis XIV. A monetary process, and considered one of the numismatic specificities of the old government, let's discover what a reformation is.

In numismatics, a reformation is the practice of using old coins to mint new ones. It is a process designed to save both metal and the cost of recasting. In itself, reformation is a devaluation of the currency. Faced with serious financial problems and in order to replenish the state coffers, the price of coins was raised, which represented a profitable operation for the king. The King then ordered the forced exchange of old money for new money of the same weight and title, but of a different type and higher value. 

Thus, on 15 December 1689, an edict was registered at the Versailles mint court implementing a monetary reform that required the subjects of the kingdom to bring their cash to the mints. The operation was justified exclusively by the shortage of cash caused by the war: in it, the king acknowledged "the considerable sums that we are obliged to transport (...) to our borders for the subsistence of our armies and for the fortification of our towns" (Édit du roy pour la fabrication de nouvelles espèces d'or et d'argent et la réformation de celles qui ont cours à présent, Versailles, December 1689. AN, Z1b 96 and MP, ms 4o 182 Paris, F. Léonard, 1689). 

Why the reformation ?

Similar currency changes were frequent in the final years of Louis XIV's reign, for a number of reasons that undermined the monarchy's finances.

A great war-mongering European monarch, the finances of the old government and the Sun King were severely affected by the sovereign's wars and appetite for conquest (the Dutch War 1672-1678, the War of the League of Augsburg 1688-1697 and the War of the Spanish Succession 1701-1714).

In addition to the wars, the revocation of the Edict of Nantes and religious conflicts did not help matters, with the flight of Protestant capital affecting the kingdom. Finally, there was the series of poor harvests.

The various reformed coins 

The reformation is easily visible on the coins, and there is generally a greater or lesser degree of overlap between the effigies and legends. The new mintage did not completely erase the old type, and it is often possible to make out the old coinage beneath the new one. The following selection of coins is a good illustration of this :

• LOUIS XIV ÉCU RÉFORMÉ AUX HUIT L 1702
• LOUIS XIV ÉCU RÉFORMÉ AUX INSIGNES 1701 RENNES
• MONNAIE GRADÉE PCGS AU 50-LOUIS XIV- QUART D'ÉCU AUX 8 L 1691 REIMS
• MONNAIE GRADÉE PCSG MS62-LOUIS XIV-5 SOLS AUX INSIGNES 1702 STRASBOURG
• MONNAIE GRADÉE PCGS -LOUIS XIV-DEMI-ECU RÉFORMÉ AUX PALMES 1695 LILLE
• LOUIS XIV - MONNAIE RÉFORMÉE- ÉCU AUX 8 L - 1704 AIX-EN-PROVENCE

In conclusion, this type of coinage was common at the end of the 17th century, and between 1690 and 1726 there were 6 reformations. It is estimated, for example, that between 1690 and 1693, £465 million worth of coins were produced by the kingdom's various mints, according to the final general statement of the Contrôle Général (AN, G7 1392, dossier IV).

The king also earned 34 million pounds from this production. 

In addition, the state of war coupled with the monarchy's chaotic finances meant that the necessary funds had to be found to finance it. As the usual tax system was no longer sufficient, the monarchy returned to a hated practice : currency transfers, widely used in medieval times, for example.

The disadvantage of this technique was that it made the depreciation of the currency, affected by successive devaluations by the crown, visible to everyone. Needless to say, these practices were highly unpopular, and were brought to an end in 1726 with a major monetary reform, although the State remained over-indebted until the opening of the Estates General in 1789.