Hugh IV's tenure over Saint-Pol coincided with the fragmentation of Flemish comital authority in the southern Low Countries, where minor lords increasingly asserted monetary rights as a marker of jurisdictional independence from larger overlords. The PA#6842 type is attributed to his long reign with some uncertainty — the exact dating window reflects the difficulty of separating issues among several Hughs who held the county across the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Billon coinage from Saint-Pol survives in notably small numbers relative to contemporary Flemish issues, partly because the county's mint output was modest and partly because these thin, brittle pieces rarely survived extended circulation intact.
Hugh IV's tenure over Saint-Pol coincided with the fragmentation of Flemish comital authority in the southern Low Countries, where minor lords increasingly asserted monetary rights as a marker of jurisdictional independence from larger overlords. The PA#6842 type is attributed to his long reign with some uncertainty — the exact dating window reflects the difficulty of separating issues among several Hughs who held the county across the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Billon coinage from Saint-Pol survives in notably small numbers relative to contemporary Flemish issues, partly because the county's mint output was modest and partly because these thin, brittle pieces rarely survived extended circulation intact.