Europe in Transformation: The 17th Century

The End of the Age

Kings Louis XIV (1643-1715) and Peter the Great (1689-1725) set the standards for new absolute monarchies, and the resulting higher costs required new coinages in place of the thaler and its currencies.

French silver écu (1690) with a portrait of Louis XIV.

Russian silver ruble (1724) with a portrait of Peter the Great.