Laureate head of Louis XIII right, date below., Eight L's back-to-back forming cross with crown at end of each arm, mint mark at center., Graded PCGS Genuine Mount removed-XF Detail, Exceptionally rare pleasure coin, corresponding to a multiple of 4 of the louis d'or, In the context of the competition between the master of the Paris mint, Louis de la Croix, defender of the hammer strike and Jean Warin, supporter and promoter of the mechanical manufacturing, the latter struck a series of essays not intended for circulation, but to prove the technical superiority of his process, Of these tests of heavy weight, adopting forms of multiples of the louis d'or, repurchased by the king with the engraver and used at the court like pleasure coins, the 4 gold louis of 40 livres, is known to date only with 7 specimens, If we except the 6 louis d'or of 60 livres, mentioned in a sale in 1869 but not found since, it is the rarest of the multiples of the iconic series of the biggest gold modules of all the French royal numismatic history, On our specimen, there is a trace of a mount at 12h, so the coin has been strongly cleaned, Finally, we note a scratch in the field, underlining the word REX in the obverse legend, This coin has a reeded edge, Pedigree: abbé Thilliez collection,, LVD·XIII·D·G·FR·ET·NAV·REX / ·1640·, ·CHRS· ·REGN· ·VINC· ·IMP·