Coin  with a pleasant appearance showing even wear and signs of an old cleaning. Legends are perfectly legible.

Extremely rare minting error. “LUD XI” instead of “XVI.”

A coin missing from most collections.

For further information on this striking error, see Jérôme Jambu, “The Louis XVI Écu Struck in Perpignan in the Name of Louis XI: A Crime of Lèse-Majesté?”, published in the Bulletin de la Société française de numismatique (BSFN), June 2017, on the occasion of the 55th Numismatic Days in Perpignan (pp. 234–246).

The author notes that, during the French Revolution, Louis XI was regarded as “the archetype of the tyrant” (p. 238), and concludes that this blunder resulted from a series of successive errors in the minting process, leading to the use of a faulty die on July 7, 1786.

These errors were recorded in the verdict of the Cour des Monnaies dated March 24, 1787: the two wardens, found guilty of insufficient oversight, were jointly fined 1,000 livres; the engraver’s assistant, Joseph Granes, was dismissed for serious misconduct; and the director, Jean Ribes, received only a reprimand and was urged to show greater diligence and accuracy in the performance of his duties.

Certified by NGC XF Details - Cleaned