½ Viennois - Louis I

Louis I of Savoy ruled the duchy for over four decades, but his billon coinage reflects the chronic monetary instability that plagued the western Alpine territories throughout the mid-fifteenth century. Savoy occupied an awkward position between French and Italian monetary spheres, and its billon fractions were periodically debased in response to bullion shortages and the financial strain of diplomatic maneuvering between Milan, France, and the papacy.

The Viennois denomination itself traces to Savoyard territorial claims over the Dauphiné, a region formally ceded to France in 1349 — making its continued use under Louis I an assertion of historical currency tradition rather than active sovereignty over the territory.