Denier - Samson of Mauvoisin

Samson of Mauvoisin governed Reims at a moment of intense rivalry between episcopal and royal monetary authority in France. The archbishops of Reims held minting rights granted under Carolingian precedent, but the mid-twelfth century saw repeated royal pressure to curtail those privileges — Louis VII actively contested ecclesiastical coinage prerogatives throughout this period. That Samson continued issuing in his own name reflects less administrative routine than a deliberate assertion of jurisdictional independence.

Billon content in Rémois deniers of this era varied considerably between dies, and Poey d'Avant's documentation of this type predates systematic die studies.