1 Patagon - Louise Marguerite

Château-Regnault was a tiny principality on the Meuse river whose monetary output was almost entirely driven by opportunism — the right to strike coin was exercised aggressively by its holders precisely because the territory itself offered little else of economic value. Louise Marguerite de Bourbon, Princess of Conti, issued this patagon in 1628 under that same logic, producing silver coinage that mimicked the weight and format of Spanish Netherlands currency to ensure it would actually circulate.

The French crown repeatedly challenged the legitimacy of such feudal mints throughout the seventeenth century. Château-Regnault's coining rights were eventually suppressed.