Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/2 Pistole - Charles III
| Issuer | Lorraine, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1587 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pound |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central field occupied by a large quartered heraldic shield bearing the arms of Lorraine, Calabria, Guelders, and associated territories, surmounted by a ducal crown with elaborate foliate arching. The shield is rendered in fine relief with detailed heraldic hatching. A beaded inner border frames the design, with the Latin legend disposed around the periphery incorporating the date 1587 at the top of the coin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Latin |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Charles III of Lorraine spent much of his reign navigating the catastrophic pressures of the French Wars of Religion, maintaining a precarious neutrality while both Catholic League and Huguenot forces operated across his borders. Gold coinage of this period from Lorraine is scarce in any condition — the duchy's mints were intermittently disrupted, and small gold fractions like the demi-pistole circulated hard in a region where monetary confidence was perpetually unstable. The pistole itself was a denomination borrowed from Spanish usage, reflecting Charles's Habsburg-aligned dynastic politics.