2 Mites - Phillip the Handsome, Regency Ghent Revolt

Philip was barely nine years old when this coin was struck, his mother Mary of Burgundy having died in a riding accident seven years prior. The regency council governing Flanders on his behalf faced open rebellion from Ghent — the city had a long history of extracting concessions from weakened rulers, and 1489 was no different. These mites were issued under the authority of that contested regency, making their legal standing genuinely ambiguous at the moment of striking.

Billon coinage from this episode tends to survive in poor condition; the alloy was ungenerous to begin with, and Ghent's economic disruption meant many pieces circulated hard before order was restored in 1492.