(sold for $5.0)

1638, Royal France, Louis XIII. Copper Double Tournois Coin. F-VF

Mint year: 1638
Mint Place: Paris?
Denomination: Double Tournois
References: Duplessy 1372 (R1!), KM-86. R!
Condition: Greenspan deposits in obverse and weakness of strike areas, lightly cleaned, otherwise F+/VF.
Material: Copper
Diameter: 20mm
Weight: 2.01gm

Obverse: Laureate and draped bust of Louis XIII right.
Legend: LOYS XIII R D FR ET NAV .

Reverse: Three lis symbols within inner circle.
Legend: I638 + DOVBLE . TOVRNOIS .

em>.

Louis XIII (27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) reigned as King of France and Navarre from 1610 to 1643.

Following the death of Luynes, Louis determined that he would rule by council.His mother returned from exile and entered this council in early 1622. In the council, Henry II de Bourbon, prince de Condé recommended violent suppression of the Huguenots. The 1622 campaign, however, followed the pattern of the previous year: royal forces won some early victories, but were unable to complete a siege, this time at the fortress of Montpellier.

The rebellion was ended by the Treaty of Montpellier, signed by Louis XIII and Henri, duc de Rohan in October 1622. This treaty confirmed the tenets of the Edict of Nantes: several Huguenot fortresses were to be razed, but the Huguenots retained control of Montauban and La Rochelle.

Louis ultimately dismissed Noël Brûlart de Sillery and Pierre Brulart, vicomte de Puisieux in 1624 because of his displeasure with how they handled the diplomatic situation over the Valtellina with Spain. Valtellina was an area with Catholic inhabitants under the suzerainty of the Protestant Grisons. It served as an important route to Italy for France. Spain was constantly interfering in the Valtellina, which angered Louis.

Cardinal Richelieu played a major role in Louis XIII's administration from 1624, decisively shaping the destiny of France for the next eighteen years. As a result of Richelieu's work, Louis XIII became one of the first examples of an absolute monarch. Under Louis and Richelieu, the crown successfully intervened in the Thirty Years' War against the Habsburgs, managed to keep the French nobility in line, and retracted the political and military privileges granted to the Huguenots by Henry IV (while maintaining their religious freedoms). In addition, Louis had the port of Le Havre modernized and built a powerful navy.

Unfortunately time and circumstances never permitted King and Cardinal to attend to the administrative reforms (particularly of France's tax system) which were urgently needed.

Louis also worked to reverse the trend of promising French artists leaving for Italy to work and study. He commissioned the artists Nicolas Poussin and Philippe de Champaigne to decorate the Louvre. In foreign matters, Louis organized the development and administration of New France, expanding its settlements westward along the Saint Lawrence River from Quebec City to Montreal.