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2 Gold Henri with Gallia - Henry II Piedfort
| Issuer | France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1555 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Laureate and armored bust of Henry II facing right, wearing a richly detailed cuirass with ornamental pauldrons and a ruffled collar, rendered in high relief in the Renaissance manner. The king is depicted with a short beard and curly hair beneath a laurel wreath. The circumferential legend reads HENRICVS · II · DEI · G · FRANCO · REX, separated by pellets, set within a finely milled border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | OPTIMO PRINCIPI · ET GALLIA (Translation: To the best prince, and Gallia.) |
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| Additional information |
Piedfort coins were never struck for circulation — they were presentation pieces, produced at double or triple the standard planchet thickness for distribution to court officials, foreign dignitaries, and as trial records kept by the mint master. This example, at roughly twice the weight of the standard Henri d'or, falls into that administrative and ceremonial tradition that French royal mints maintained through the sixteenth century.
Henry II's monetary reforms of the early 1550s restructured French gold coinage around the Henri d'or type, issued under the Ordonnance of 1549. The "with Gallia" designation distinguishes issues carrying the seated figure of Gaul from the plainer variants — a subtle iconographic choice that carried pointed dynastic messaging during France's ongoing conflicts with the Habsburgs.