Denier Tournois - Henry II Silver pattern strike

Dombes operated as a semi-autonomous principality under the House of Bourbon-Montpensier, retaining the right to strike its own coinage long after most French apanages had lost that privilege. Henry II of Dombes — Henri de Bourbon-Montpensier — issued coins from the Trévoux mint, one of the few seigneurial establishments still functioning in France as the Bourbon monarchy steadily consolidated monetary authority. A silver pattern of the denier tournois is a deliberate anomaly: the denomination was struck overwhelmingly in billon or base metal for circulation, making a silver essai a document of intent rather than commerce, likely produced for presentation or to secure approval from an assay authority.

The Divo reference numbers spanning two entries suggest die variation between the two catalogued examples.