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Denier Tournois - Henri III Dauphiné, Z on reverse
| Issuer | Royal French Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1578-1581 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Livre tournois (987-1795) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | HENRI.III.R.DE.FRA.PO.1578. (a) .HENRI.III.R.DE.FRA.ET.PO.FG (b) |
| Reverse description | Central field displays a fleur-de-lis above the mint mark letter Z, identifying the Grenoble mint, with a small decorative element in the field. The design is enclosed within a circular Latin legend reading DENIER TOURNOIS with date and privy marks. A rose and a sun symbol (soleil) serve as punctuation marks within the legend, as was customary on French royal copper coinage of this era. The reverse follows the standard tournois type, with the mint letter Z prominently placed beneath the fleur-de-lis in the lower field. |
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| Additional information |
Henri III's Dauphiné deniers tournois represent the Crown's persistent effort to extend royal copper coinage into a province that had long operated with considerable fiscal autonomy. The Grenoble mint — the relevant facility for Dauphiné issues of this period — used the Z mintmark to distinguish its output, a convention maintained across multiple denominations during Henri's reign.
Henri III faced chronic liquidity problems throughout the late 1570s, partly a consequence of expenditure during the Wars of Religion, and small copper denominations like this one were critical for local market transactions that silver couldn't efficiently serve.