1/2 Teston of Dauphiné - Charles IX

Charles IX inherited the Dauphiné title as part of the French royal succession, and coins struck in the province's name carried that regional designation even as monetary policy increasingly consolidated under the Paris crown. This half teston falls squarely within the regency period of Catherine de Medici, who governed in practice while her son remained a minor through much of the 1560s.

The French religious wars erupted in 1562, one year before this type's production began. Dauphiné itself became a theater of Huguenot and Catholic conflict, and mint operations across provincial centers were repeatedly disrupted — making consistent output from this period genuinely difficult to document.