Denier Tournois - Henri III Saint-Lô, 2nd type

The denier tournois had been a copper workhorse of French small commerce for centuries before Henri III's reign, but the Saint-Lô issues of the late 1580s were struck under conditions of acute political crisis. The Wars of Religion had fractured royal authority, the Catholic League effectively controlled Paris by 1588, and Henri III was assassinated at Saint-Cloud in August 1589 — meaning the latest possible coins of this type were struck within months of the monarchy's most violent rupture of the century.

Saint-Lô was among the provincial mints pressed into heavier service as central minting capacity was disrupted. The 2nd type distinction from CGKL#122 reflects a die modification made during this compressed window of production.