Honoré II secured formal recognition of Monegasque sovereignty from Louis XIII in 1641 through the Treaty of Péronne, which ended Spanish suzerainty over Monaco and placed the principality under French protection. The coinage that followed — including this half doppia — was among the first issued under that new arrangement, asserting the right to strike gold that the Spanish overlords had effectively suppressed. Honoré II adopted the title "Prince of Monaco" for the first time in history precisely during this period.
The doppia denomination itself derived from Italian monetary tradition, reflecting Monaco's geographic and commercial orientation toward Genoa and the Ligurian coast rather than Paris.
Honoré II secured formal recognition of Monegasque sovereignty from Louis XIII in 1641 through the Treaty of Péronne, which ended Spanish suzerainty over Monaco and placed the principality under French protection. The coinage that followed — including this half doppia — was among the first issued under that new arrangement, asserting the right to strike gold that the Spanish overlords had effectively suppressed. Honoré II adopted the title "Prince of Monaco" for the first time in history precisely during this period.
The doppia denomination itself derived from Italian monetary tradition, reflecting Monaco's geographic and commercial orientation toward Genoa and the Ligurian coast rather than Paris.