1 ECU - Coutras

Coutras marks the 1587 Huguenot victory where Henry of Navarre's cavalry routed the Catholic League forces under the Duc de Joyeuse, who died in the battle. It was one of the engagements that ultimately cleared Henry's path to the French throne — and, after his conversion, to the Edict of Nantes. The Monnaie de Paris issued this piece as part of its long-running ECU series commemorating significant French historical sites and events, which ran through the early 1990s and was retired ahead of euro convergence.