Owner Comments:
If you read an obit about a man who had been a chronic gambler; who was sentenced to death for killing another during a duel over a female; who escaped prison; who perpetrated one of the greatest financial cons of all time; who then disguised himself as a woman to escape angry creditors in the dead of night; and who ultimately died destitute in a foreign land, you might be hard-pressed to conclude that such a person was largely responsible for the existence of the 1720-A 20 sol French coin pictured above.
John Law, a Scotsman, exhibited these negative qualities, yet contrary to the profile, possessed one of the most brilliant financial minds of his time, enabling him to ascend to the pinnacle of financial control over France. He lived at a time when France, largely because of the lavish indulgences of Louis XIV at Versailles and war expenses, had accumulated a huge and unmanageable national debt. Through his emphasis on printing copious amounts of paper money, liberal extensions of credit, fractional reserve banking, and the unbridled issuance of stock, Law sought to stimulate France's economy, and repay its debt through his monetary and fiscal policies.
By gaining the confidence of France's elite, and simultaneously pandering to his and their greed, he was ultimately able to: become the country's Comptroller General of Finances (our equivalent of the Secretary of the Treasury); with permission of the Crown, control the Royal Bank; buy up the right to collect French taxes; exert complete control over all French mints from July 1719 to January 1721; and run the main corporations (such as the Mississippi Company) that monopolized the French colonies abroad. Eventually the financial bubble burst however, and Laws' myth, predicated on smoke, mirrors, endless borrowing, and manipulations came to an abrupt end.
The coin featured above was produced during Laws' reign of power over the French Mints. This 1720 French 20 sols or 1/6 Ecu piece, also known as a livre d'argent fin, was graded XF 40 by PCGS, and exhibits the "A" mint mark. This means it was produced at the Paris Mint. The silver coin exhibits exceptional eye appeal, with beautiful natural toning in orange, aqua, green, and red. The obverse contains a youthful bust of Louis XV, oriented to the right, and the mark of the mintmaster. The reverse displays a crowned double L monogram, with a Latin peripheral legend that translates into "Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord". A number of these pieces, deemed official domestic exports to the colonies, were shipped to French America in 1722.