Chaise d'Or - William I

William I of Guelders struck this chaise d'or in direct imitation of the French royal type, a deliberate political signal during a period when the duchy was navigating pressures from both the French crown and the Holy Roman Empire. The chaise — a seated throne type — had been a prestige format in France since Philip IV, and smaller princes adopting it were making a statement about parity of lordship rather than vassalage.

Guelders under William I was formally elevated from a county to a duchy in 1339, and the coinage of his later reign reflects sustained effort to project ducal authority through gold issues that could circulate alongside French and Burgundian money.