France 2 Sols Constitutional Period

Louis XVI - Constitutional Period [before he lost his head]. French Revolutionary period with revolutionary dating of L'AN 4 and 1792 on the same coin. OB: "LOUIS XVI ROI DES FRANCAIS", below bust 'heart symbol' and 1792 BB. BB is the mintmark of Strasbourg, which is where all of this two year series was minted. It's possible to miss the fact that the obverse legend here uses the word 'Francais' rather than the more common (for this issue) word 'Francois'. The first use refers to Louis XVI as the King of the French, whereas the more numerous spelling using the word 'Francois' refers to Louis as King of France [see below]. There's a significant difference in value between the two. RX: "LA NATION LA LOI LE ROI" with "L'AN 4 DE LA LIBERTE" below. With the revolutionary dating system some L'AN4's are also found with the date of 1793.
The change in title from "King of France" to "King of the French" had a significant impact on the legitimacy and nature of the French monarchy, reflecting a fundamental shift in political philosophy.
Prior to the French Revolution, French kings held the traditional title of "King of France", signifying an absolute monarchy where the king's authority derived from divine right to rule over the territory and subjects of France. This reinforced the concept of the monarch embodying the state itself, with supreme power over the realm and its people.
However, with the revolutionary upheaval and the rise of liberal ideals, the new constitutional monarchy adopted the title "King of the French" instead. This symbolic change suggested a more limited, constitutional form of monarchy where the king's legitimacy came from the French people themselves, rather than divine right over the territory.
Specifically:
The title "King of the French" implied the monarch ruled with the consent of the nation and had obligations towards its citizens, deriving authority from the people rather than absolutist principles of divine right.
It signified a shift from the king being the personification of the state, to being a constitutional ruler beholden to the will of the French populace.
When Louis Philippe took the throne in 1830 after the July Revolution, adopting "King of the French" portrayed him as a "Citizen King" whose power stemmed from the bourgeois, liberal political forces rather than traditional absolutism.
So in essence, "King of France" evoked the absolutist ancien régime, while "King of the French" symbolized the post-revolutionary, constitutional monarchy's more populist, limited legitimacy derived from the French nation itself. This change in title reflected the declining ideology of divine right in favor of sovereignty residing with the people. [Perplexity AI]