2 Groot 'Kromstaart' - Philip the Good Crossed As

Philip the Good struck this issue in the late 1420s during a period of acute monetary friction between Burgundian Flanders and neighboring principalities, where competing coinages were being actively manipulated to undercut exchange rates. The 'Kromstaart' — literally 'crooked tail' — nickname derives from a distinctive curl in the lion's tail, a minor die characteristic that became the collector shorthand for distinguishing this subtype from otherwise closely related issues.

The crossed arms reverse identifies the issuing authority through heraldic combination rather than inscription alone, a deliberate choice in a multilingual commercial zone where Latin legends were increasingly insufficient for rapid mercantile identification at Bruges and Ghent's busy exchange tables.