Coin France Liard of France with juvenile bust - Louis XIV - 1655 E Meung sur Loire

French copper Liard struck in 1655 at Meung-sur-Loire (mint mark E), during the personal reign of Louis XIV (1643?1715), the Sun King, then aged 17 and still under the guardianship of his chief minister Mazarin. This small copper liard represents the lowest denomination of French royal coinage of the period ? the people's coin par excellence, used in the daily transactions of ordinary 17th-century life.

The obverse features the youthful crowned bust of Louis XIV facing right, with the inscription + L XIIII ROY DE FRANCE ET DE NA (abbreviation for Navarre). The reverse displays the legend + LIARD DE FRANCE in three lines, with three fleurs-de-lis arranged two and one around the mint letter E (Meung-sur-Loire). The edge is plain.

The Meung-sur-Loire mint (Loiret), a royal monetary establishment active since the Middle Ages, is one of the least productive mints in this series ? which further enhances the rarity of this example.

Condition: VG (Very Good) ? circulated coin, portrait and legends identifiable, consistent period wear, copper patina characteristic of the 17th century.