French franc
The franc (; French: franc français, [fʁɑ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛ]; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the French franc (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It was reintroduced (in decimal form) in 1795. After two centuries of inflation, it was redenominate
Overview
The franc (; French: franc français, [fʁɑ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛ]; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the French franc (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It was reintroduced (in decimal form) in 1795. After two centuries of inflation, it was redenominated in 1960, with each new franc (NF) being worth 100 old francs. The NF designation was continued for a few years before the currency returned to being simply the franc. Many French residents, though, continued to quote prices of especially expensive items in terms of the old franc (equivalent to the new centime), up to and even after the introduction of the euro (for coins and banknotes) in 2002. The French franc was a commonly held international reserve currency of reference in the 19th and 20th centuries. Between 1998 and 2002, the conversion of francs to euros was carried out at a rate of 6.55957 francs to 1 euro.
History
The French franc traces its origins to the Carolingian monetary system of the 8th century AD, and more specifically to the livre tournois, an offshoot of the same system which emerged in the 13th century. Here is a table of changes to the value of the livre parisis and the livre tournois in terms of silver or gold until the French franc was introduced in 1795.
Carolingian, 781
Emperor Charlemagne's monetary system was introduced in 781 AD to the Frankish Carolingian Empire and spread over the centuries to much of Western Europe, with a Livre (pound) of silver divided into 20 sols or sous (shillings) and the sol divided into 12 deniers (pennies). Only the denier existed as a coin for the next 500 years, with the sou and livre functioning as accounting multiples of the denier. The first livre and denier weighed 407.92 g and 1.7 g, respectively, of the finest silver available.
Capetian, c. 1000
Livres and deniers issued c. 1000 under the Capetian dynasty contained 305.94 g and 1.27475 g fine silver, respectively. The French mark of 8 ounces was a unit of weight equal to 244.752 grams, and equal in weight to 192 deniers or 16 sols of this period. In subsequent centuries the French kings would struggle to implement fixed standards for the livre over a decentralized realm of Frankish feudal rulers, many of whom claimed the right to issue currency within their own domains, and often resorting to currency debasements in moments of stringency. While monetary values as proclaimed by French kings would eventually be identified as the livre parisis, other regions almost always got by with currencies of lower standard. One such currency, the livre tournois, would eventually become the preferred accounting system under a more centralized French kingdom.
Louis IX, 1266
The emergence of the livre tournois as France's preferred accounting system occurred during the reign of King Louis IX with the issuance of the silver gros tournois with 58 issued to a French mark of silver of fineness 23⁄24 (hence 4.044 g fine silver in a gros), and valued at 1 sol (12 deniers) in France's Touraine region, though valued less than 1 sol parisis. The new coin's reputation and handling convenience versus those of debased deniers assured the adoption of the gros tournois to the rest of Western Europe.
Late Capetian, 1317
Towards the reign of King Philip IV le Bel came pressures to further debase the denier, which occurred in 1317 when the gros tournois was raised to 15 deniers tournois or 12 deniers (1 sol) parisis, thus commencing the fixed parity of 4 deniers parisis to 5 deniers tournois. While French kings would continue to prescribe coin values in multiples of 4 and 12 deniers parisis until the end of the 15th century, the rest of France would gradually choose to recognize their increased values in multiples of 5 and 15 deniers tournois.
Hundred Years' War, 1361
The start of the Hundred Years' War against England in 1337 would increase the pressure to further debase the French livre. An attempt in 1343 to reverse earlier depreciations of circulating deniers and reinstate the old 1317-era gros tournois (forte monnaie, or strong money) caused financial havoc especially with borrowers who received depreciated coins and who then had to repay debts in forte monnaie. Lower valuations for the livre had to be accepted subsequently as the war raged on. In 1361 the gros tournois of 15 deniers tournois (1 sol parisis) was minted at 84 to a French Mark of silver, 23/24 fine (hence, 2.79 fine silver in a gros). At the same time gold flowing from Southern Europe started to become an important medium of exchange in the North, so gold francs worth 1 livre tournois (16 sols parisis) were minted at 63 to a French mark of fine gold (hence, 3.885 g in a franc). Gold as circulating currency would henceforth continue in the form of écus d'or of varying gold content. The gold franc worth one livre tournois was introduced in 1360 to pay the ransom of King John II of France. This coin secured the king's freedom and showed him on a richly decorated horse earning it the name franc à cheval (meaning "free on horseback" in French). The obverse legend, like other French coins, gives the king's title as Francorum Rex ("King of the Franks" in Latin) and provides another reason to call the coin a franc. John's son, Charles V, continued this type. It was copied exactly at Brabant and Cambrai and, with the arms on the horse cloth changed, at Flanders. Conquests led by Joan of Arc allowed Charles VII to return to sound coinage and he revived the franc à cheval. John II, however, was not able to strike enough francs to pay his ransom and he voluntarily returned to English captivity. John II died as a prisoner in England and his son Charles V was left to pick up the pieces. Charles V pursued a policy of reform, including stable coinage. An edict dated 20 April 1365 established the centrepiece of this policy, a gold coin officially called the denier d'or aux fleurs de lis which had a standing figure of the king on its obverse, pictured under a canopy. Its value in money of account was one livre tournois, just like the franc à cheval, and this coin is universally known as a franc à pied ('free on foot'). In accordance with the theories of the mathematician, economist and royal advisor Nicole Oresme, Charles struck fewer coins of better quality gold than his ancestors. In the accompanying deflation, both prices and wages fell, but wages fell faster and debtors had to settle up in better money than they had borrowed. The Mayor of Paris, Étienne Marcel, exploited their discontent to lead the Jacquerie revolt which forced Charles V out of the city. The franc fared better. It became associated with money stable at one livre tournois.
Lancastrian War, 1425
A certain degree of peace achieved at the start of the 15th century helped settle the value of French currency. After 1422 the gros of 1 sol parisis was minted at 96 to a French mark, 3⁄4 fine (hence 1.912 g per gros), while the écu of 20 sols parisis was minted at 64 to a French mark, 22+1⁄2 karats or 15⁄16 fine (hence 3.585 g per écu). The gros and the écu compared favourably with England's 2-pence coin of 1.8 g silver and 40-pence (1⁄6th of a pound) half-noble coin of 3.48 g gold, resulting in an approximate exchange rate of 1 pound sterling to six livres parisis. Peace in the Burgundian Netherlands after the 1420s also resulted in the 1434 realignment of the Flemish monetary system with the French livre. The new Flemish guilder (pound) of 20 stuiver (shilling) contained 32.6 g fine silver and was approximately par with the Livre Parisis of 20 sols (38.24 g). Such parities between the French livres to the Flemish and English currencies would persist up to the 1560s and would facilitate the issue of identical coin denominations across these countries.
Louis XI, 1475
The Great Bullion Famine of the mid-15th century resulted in yet another debasement during the reign of King Louis XI, with the livre parisis reduced to 1 French ounce (30.594 g) fine silver or 2.620 g fine gold. The silver gros was minted at 69 to the French mark, 23⁄24 fine (3.4 g fine silver) and was valued at 1⁄9th the Livre Parisis (or 2+2⁄9 sols). The gold écu au soleil was minted at 72 to the mark, 23+1⁄8 karats fine (3.2754 g fine gold), and was valued at 25 sols parisis. The close of the 15th century saw the beginnings of a more centralized French currency system and the discontinuation of competing currency systems within France. The livre parisis of 1 French ounce approximately matched the silver content of 1⁄6th pound sterling (1 troy ounce of sterling silver). It would also become the model for the Holy Roman Empire when its prince-electors started issuing the 1-ounce silver Guldengroschen divided into 21 Groschen (gros, shillings) or 252 Pfennige (pence).
Valois-Angoulême, 1549
A considerable acceleration in the debasement of the French, English and Dutch currencies occurred during the reign of the Valois-Angoulême kings in the 16th century amidst the huge influx of precious metals from the American continent arriving through the Habsburg Netherlands. The loose enforcement of monetary standards in the Dutch provinces resulted in a significant 1⁄3rd reduction in the value of the French livre by 1549, with debasements continuing into the 17th century. The French ounce (30.594 g) of fine silver was raised in value from 1 to 1+1⁄2 livre parisis (or from 25 to 37+1⁄2 sols tournois). The écu au soleil of 3.2754 g fine gold was raised in value from 25 to 37+1⁄2 sols parisis (or 31+1⁄4 to approximately 47 sols tournois). This 50% advance was also seen in England in 1551 when it raised its troy ounce of sterling silver from 40 to 60 pence, and in the 17th century when the Holy Roman Empire raised its one-ounce silver thaler from 1 to 1+1⁄2 silver gulden. The 16th century saw the issuance of larger silver coins, first in testoons (9 g fine silver, valued at 11 sols Tournois in 1549), and later on in silver francs (12.3 g fine silver, valued at 1 livre tournois in 1577). These French coins, however, were much less popular than the 1-ounce silver coins coming out of Spain, the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire, leading to the 1641 currency reform under King Louis XIII. Henry III exploited the association of the franc as sound money worth one livre tournois when he sought to stabilize French currency in 1577. By this time, inflows of gold and silver from Spanish America had caused inflation throughout the world economy and the kings of France, who were not getting much of this wealth, only made things worse by manipulating the values assigned to their coins. The States General which met at Blois in 1577 added to the public pressure to stop currency manipulation. Henry III agreed to do this and he revived the franc, now as a silver coin valued at one livre tournois. This coin and its fractions circulated until 1641 when Louis XIII replaced it with the silver écu. Nevertheless, the name "franc" continued in accounting as a synonym for the livre tournois.
Louis XIII, 1641
In the 17th century King Louis XIII abolished its unpopular coinage of francs and ecus in favour of Spanish-modelled coins. It also abolished the livre parisis system in favour of exclusive use of the livre tournois. The Spanish dollar was the model for the Louis d'argent – 9 to a French mark (244.752 g) of silver, 11⁄12 fine (hence 24.93 g fine silver), and valued at 3 livres tournois. The Spanish doubloon or two-escudo coin was the model for the Louis d'or – 36+1⁄4 to a French mark of gold, 11⁄12 fine (hence 6.189 g fine gold), and valued at 10 livres.
Louis XV, 1726
France entered another turbulent period during the War of the Spanish Succession from 1701 to 1714, resulting in another debasement of the livre tournois. Under King Louis XV's reign in 1726 the silver écu d'argent was issued at 8.3 to a mark of silver, 11/12 fine (hence 27.03 g fine silver), and valued at 6 livres. A new gold Louis d'or was also issued at 30 to a mark of gold, 11/12 fine (hence 7.4785 g fine gold), and valued at 24 livres.
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