FRANCE / CAPETIANS - FRANCE / ROYAL Louis XIV (1643-1715). Half-louis d'or à l'écu, flan neuf ? 1690, K, Bordeaux. Av. LVD. XIIII. D. G. - FR. ET. NAV. REX. Aged head of the King on the right, with a laurelled wig. Rv. (at 12 o'clock) (workshop) SIT. NOMEN. DOMINI (different) BENEDICTVM. (date) (different). Crowned shield of France. Dy.1436 ? - G.239 (R4) - L4L 244 (R4) - Clairand - (No FN for the type) - Charlet (1996) type 20a - Drs (1987) 241 - Fr.430 ; Gold - 21 mm - 6 h Top Pop: this is the only graded example! NGC MS 64 (8583611-007). Our copy seems to be a strike on a new blank, with only a tiny trace of X in front of the King's forehead (could be a double strike). The star on the reverse is not placed under the shield and is hollow (like the five-pointed sign of Solomon): it is more of a master's difference than the reformation star which is placed under the shield for this type. Bordeaux is one of the few workshops to strike this type of shield on a new blank! The corners used are rusty. Golden patina. Superb in Fleur de coin.