1 Tournose - John I

John I of Cleves struck this tournose in direct imitation of the French gros tournois, a coin type that had been spreading eastward through the Low Countries and Rhineland since Philip IV's monetary reforms of the late 13th century. Cleves adopted the type not merely for convenience — controlling a strategically vital crossing of the lower Rhine meant participating in an economy where French-style silver groats had become the effective trade currency. A local imitation was as much a political statement about monetary participation as it was practical necessity.

Noss Be#46g places this among the documented varieties of John I's coinage, a reign spanning over two decades during which the county consolidated its regional influence considerably.