1720A France 1/3E NGC AU58. For a coin minted almost three hundred years ago, the coins surfaces are astonishingly clean and free of distractions. The coin is well struck with all of the obverse and reverse details clear and easy to see. The high points of the coin, the hair above the forehead, the ends of the curls, and the lines of the drapery are all sufficiently separated to support the grade. The coin is a lustrous, silver-grey with some darker toning at the periphery. It is an original, lovely specimen worthy of the finest collection of colonial or confederation coins.

The coin is appropriately graded AU58 by NGC, and American Independence Col is on the holder indicating the coins history. The coin, a 1/3 ecu or 2 livres, shows portrait of a young Louis XV facing right. It is a laureate bust with the obverse legend LUD XV D G FR ET NAV REX, which means Louis XV, by the grace of God king of France and of Navarre. The date is below the truncation. The reverse shows four crowned back to back Ls in cruciform. They symbolize Louis IX, the sainted king. Four fleur-de-lis are positioned at angles. The reverse legend is CHRS REGN VINC IMP, which means Christ reigns, conquers and commands. The mintmark A for Paris is in the center of the reverse.

Louis XV ruled France from 1715 until his death in 1777. When he became King at the age of five, his cousin, Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, served as Regent until 1723. Louis XV was a member of the House of Bourbon. The House of Bourbon is a royal branch of the Capetian dynasty. In the sixteenth century, Bourbon kings ruled Navarre from 1555 and France from 1589. The monarchy was overthrown in 1792 during the French Revolution and restored briefly in 1814 and more permanently in 1815. It was finally overthrown in 1830.

Silver and gold coins from Europe and South America circulated and were accepted for commerce in America during the Colonial and the Confederation eras. They were used both domestically and for foreign trade. Coined gold and silver were thought of as commodities and therefore were able to serve as mediums of exchange without governmental intervention. Until 1857, when the United States government outlawed the use of foreign coins, the federal government allowed the free use of silver and gold of various denominations from all countries. They were valued by their weight and fineness according to the demands of the market.