2 Denier - Philip the Good

Philip the Good ruled Hainaut as part of a sprawling Burgundian territorial accumulation that made him, by the 1430s, the most powerful magnate in northern Europe — wealthier in practical terms than the French crown he nominally served. The long date range on this issue reflects not a stable coinage but a series of repeated revaluations and restrikes, as Philip's mints struggled to maintain a workable billon currency while silver fled to higher-value denominations.

At .040 fineness, this piece sits at the lowest practical threshold for billon — below this, the alloy behaves more like copper than silver in striking. Hainaut's mint at Valenciennes handled the bulk of these small issues.