Écu
- This article is about the medieval French currency, not the European Currency Unit (ECU) or an electronic control unit (ECU).
The term écu may refer to one of several French coins. The first écu was a gold coin minted during the reign of Louis IX of France, in 1266. The value of the écu varied considerably over time, and silver coins known as écu d'argent were also introduced.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the name écu was applied exclusively to a large silver coin worth five livres tournois. It disappeared during the French Revolution, but the 5 francs silver coins minted throughout the 19th century were but the continuation of the old écus, and were often still called écu by French people.
The écu, as it existed immediately before the French Revolution, is approximately equivalent (in terms of purchasing power) to 20 euros in 2005.
Ecu (from Latin scutum) means shield, and the coin was so called because its design included a shield bearing a coat of arms. The word is related to scudo and escudo.de:Écu fr:Écu (monnaie)