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1/2 Patard / Stiver '1/2 Briquet' - Charles the Bold
| Issuer | Brabant, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1474-1476 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | A rampant lion facing left occupies the central field, rendered in the stylized late-Gothic manner with flowing mane and curling tail, its body depicted in mid-length. The figure is set within an inner beaded circle, beyond which runs the circumferential legend in uncial Latin characters. The lion, heraldic emblem of Brabant, is boldly struck and displays fine detail in the mane and forepaws despite the irregularity characteristic of hammered billon coinage of this period. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | ✠ KAROL ⵓ DI ⵓ GR ⵓ DX ⵓ BG ⵓ BRA ⵓ Z ⵓ LI ⵓ (hand) (Translation: Charles, by God`s grace Duke of Burgundy Brabant and Limbourg) |
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| Additional information |
Charles the Bold struck these small billon pieces during his most militarily aggressive years, when the Burgundian war machine was consuming revenue at a pace the Low Countries' mints struggled to match. The 1474–1476 window falls squarely between the Siege of Neuss — a costly, ultimately failed eleven-month operation against the Archbishop of Cologne — and Charles's catastrophic defeats at Grandson and Murten in 1476, after which he would be dead within the year.
The "briquet" nickname derives from the firesteel device associated with the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece, a motif that Charles deployed aggressively across his coinage as dynastic branding. Billon at .320 fine was already a concession to fiscal pressure.