BOOK REVIEW: LES MONNAIES ROYALES FRANÇAISES 1610-1792, 4TH ED.

Pastrone, Francesco. Les monnaies royales françaises 1610-1792, 4th ed. Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 2012. French language. Hardbound with colour photos, 508 pages. ISBN 978-2906602403. Price: 49 euro.

Éditions Victor Gadoury recently launched the fourth edition of its Les monnaies royales françaises 1610-1712 (Royal Coins of France, 1610-1792), commonly referred to as the "White Gadoury," a well respected publication first published in 1978 and written by the late Victor Gadoury himself.

This new edition of what I would call "The Four Louis" (since it covers the coinage of kings Louis XIII, XIV, XV, and XVI) has benefited from considerable research on the subject over the past few decades. Indeed, Gadoury's text has been updated with the research of some twenty renowned French numismatists.

The coins are presented by reign, from the smallest denomination to the largest. A list of all mint marks is at the beginning of each reign. One of the biggest changes introduced in this edition has been the discard of mintage figures that have been deemed inconsequential since many of the pieces struck by these kings were later reformed. A rarity scale has thus taken their place: C (common), R (101-500 known), R2 (51-100), R3 (11-50), R4 (5-10), and R5 (less than 5 known).

Another change is the presentation itself. Each coin type is presented with spectacular colour images that are accompanied by the following data: reference number, fineness, official weight, diameter range, edge, engraver, and some notes. The values for three conditions are presented in a table. These conditions are: TB (Très Beau = Fine), TTB (Très très beau = Very Fine), and SUP (Superbe = Extremely Fine). Also included in the table is the date, mint, rarity, and whether the known pieces are reformations (identified by the use of "rf") or struck on new planchets (identified by "fn").

All in all, a superb book well worth the 49-euro price for those that specialized in these series. My rating: 5/5. It is available directly from the publisher at www.gadoury.com/fra/libro-134-monnaies-royales-francaises-2012.htm .

Wayne Homren, Editor

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