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Denier Tournois - John II 3rd type
| Issuer | France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1355 |
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| Currency | Livre tournois (1204-1795) |
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| Obverse description | A plain Latin cross with slightly expanded terminals occupies the entire central field, its four arms extending to an inner circle. The cross divides the surrounding circular legend into four segments. The design is rendered in the flat, bold relief typical of mid-14th-century French hammered billon coinage, with the legend running between the inner and outer beaded borders. |
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| Reverse description | The châtel tournois (Castle of Tours) is depicted in the centre of the field, rendered as a stylised fortified tower with two flanking turrets surmounted by small crosses or fleurs, resting on a stepped base. The design is enclosed within an inner circle, with the circular legend distributed between beaded inner and outer borders. The type faithfully continues the Tournois tradition established under Louis IX and perpetuated through the Valois dynasty. |
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| Additional information |
John II issued this denier tournois in 1355, one year after his catastrophic ransom burden from the Battle of Poitiers had yet to materialize — that defeat came in September 1356. What was already crushing France in 1355 was the financial wreckage of his father Philip VI's wars, leaving the royal treasury dependent on debased billon coinage to meet even routine obligations. The third type reflects successive reductions in fineness that characterized John's monetary manipulations, a policy that provoked merchant resistance and contributed to Étienne Marcel's uprising in Paris just two years later.