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Earlier French gold coins are referred to as Louis (the name of eighteen French kings) or écu (an old French word for shield). Gold Napoléons have historically proven more resilient than other gold coins to economic forces, such as after the Suez crisis when unlike other coins Napoléons did not weaken. [7]
In the Middle Ages, the term bezant (Old French: besant, from Latin bizantius aureus) was used in Western Europe to describe several gold coins of the east, all derived ultimately from the Roman solidus. The word itself comes from the Greek Byzantion, the ancient name of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
The use of "gold" for "or" (and "silver" for "argent") was a short-lived fashion amongst certain heraldic writers in the mid-20th century who attempted to "demystify" and popularise the subject of heraldry. "Or" is sometimes spelled with a capital letter (e.g. "Gules, a fess Or") so as not to confuse it with the conjunction "or". [2]
The term écu (French pronunciation:) may refer to one of several French coins. [1] The first écu was a gold coin (the écu d'or) minted during the reign of Louis IX of France, in 1266. The value of the écu varied considerably over time, and silver coins (known as écu d'argent) were also introduced.
This is still observed in English-language heraldry, which adopted terms from Old French for specific round items. [2] Thus, while a gold roundel may be blazoned by its tincture, e.g., a roundel or, it is more often described as a bezant, from the Old French term besant for a gold coin, which itself is named for the Byzantine Empire. [1]
Half Louis d’or of Louis XIII (1643) [nb 2] The Louis d'or (a gold coin) replaced the franc which had been in circulation (in theory) since John II.In actual practice the principal gold coin circulating in France in the earlier 17th century had been Spanish: the 6.7-gram double escudo or "doubloon", of which the Louis d'or was an explicit copy.
Platina is a diminutive of plata (silver); it is a loan word from French plate or Provençal plata (sheet of metal) and is the origin of the English "plate". [53] Gold (Au) 79 gold: Old English via Middle English: descriptive (colour) From the Old English "gold", from Proto-Indo-European *ghel-meaning "yellow/ bright".
5-sol French coin and silver coins – New France; Spanish-American coins- unofficial; Playing cards – 1685-1760s, sometimes officially New France; 15 and a 30-deniers coin known as the mousquetaire – early 17th century New France; Gold Louis – 1720 New France; Sol and Double Sol 1738–1764; English coins early 19th century