Louis XVIII reigned from 1814-1824. He lived in exile from 1791 to 1814, when Napoleon was first deposed, and again in 1815 during Napoleon was restored to power in the Hundred Days. nIn assuming the monarchy, he skipped XVII our of respect for the son of his brother, Louis XVI, son, who was next in the Bourbon line but died in prison in 1795.

Louis XVIII’s coinage has two busts: the dressed bust of 1814-1815 and the nude bust of 1816-1824. There is a distinct variant of the 1815 dressed bust without the mint maker’s signature (Tollier) that was minted while Louis XVIII was in exile in London.

During the first restoration of the monarch (1814-1815) the gold 40 francs and the subsidiary silver denominations were not minted. Mintage of Louis XVIII’s gold 20 francs is roughly the same as Napoleon’s.