French blue enamel street sign "Carroir de l'Ecu" - France.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the name écu was applied exclusively to a large silver coin (introduced by Louis XIII in 1640) initially worth three livres tournois. From 1690 to 1725 rates were unstable and new écus were issued with existing écus revalued. After 1726 the final écu remained stable at six livres tournois. The silver écu (sometimes also called the louis d'argent) was further broken down into a 1/4 value coin (the quart d'écu) and a 1/2 value coin (the demi-écu). For more on the 17-18th century currency system, see Louis (coin), livre tournois and Italian scudo. The écu disappeared during the French Revolution, but the 5 francs silver coins minted throughout the 19th century were but the continuation of the old écus, and were often still called écu by French people.
Size: 3600px × 2701px
Location: Preuilly-sur-Claise, Indre-et-Loire, France.
Photo credit: © Ed Buziak / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: alley, ancient, blue, buziak, carroir, coin, coinage, de, ecu, enamel, entry, france, french, monetary, money, passage, revolution, road, sign, silver, standard, street, écu
