1/2 Groat - Philip the Handsome

Philip inherited Flanders at age four following the death of Mary of Burgundy in 1482, with the county governed by regents through years of bitter conflict with the French crown and restive Flemish towns. By the time Philip assumed direct rule in 1494, the currency had been debased repeatedly to fund those political struggles. This issue, struck in the final year before his personal rule, reflects billon at its most degraded — silver content low enough to sit uncomfortably close to copper coinage.