The second half of the reign of Louis XIV was marked by a deep crisis of silver metal. The wars, which from then on did not stop, tended to make the quantity of silver metal available in the kingdom of France scarce.

The new coins that were issued were mostly re-stamped on old coins. The quality of the minting was often very poor.

But in 1709, in the midst of a monetary crisis, a ship carrying the equivalent of 30 million pounds docked at La Rochelle. This exceptional supply of silver metal enabled the French crown to mint new silver coins of good quality.

It was in this context that the so-called "three crowns" coins were created. They were minted from 1709 to 1713. Two years later it was Louis XV, his great-grandson, who inherited a kingdom that was now impoverished and in debt due to the many wars that had been fought.