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Faux écu - Honoré II
| Issuer | Monaco |
|---|---|
| Year | 1655 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Draped and cuirassed bust of Prince Honoré II facing right, with long flowing hair. The effigy is rendered in high relief in a baroque style typical of mid-17th century coinage. The surrounding legend reads HON. II. D. G. PRIN. MONOECI., abbreviated from Honoratus II Dei Gratia Princeps Monoeci. An inner beaded border frames the design. The planchet is irregular, consistent with hammered coinage of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | HON·II·D·G·PRIN·MONOECI· |
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| Additional information |
Honoré II secured recognition of Monegasque sovereignty from Louis XIII in 1641 — the Treaty of Péronne that ended Spanish suzerainty over the rock. This coin was struck just fourteen years later, during a reign in which Honoré was aggressively asserting Monaco's independent identity through coinage. The "faux écu" designation reflects a denomination calibrated to approximate the French écu without formal equivalence, a deliberate ambiguity that suited a principality navigating between French protection and autonomous monetary pretension.