Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Denier Tournois - Louis II 1st type, Silver pattern strike
| Issuer | Dombes, Principality of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1576-1577 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Silver |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Within a plain inner circle, two fleurs-de-lis flank a central diagonal line or baton, evoking the traditional tournois design derived from the abbey of Saint-Martin de Tours. The fleurs-de-lis are rendered in fine relief against a flat field. The circumscribed Latin legend naming the denomination and date runs around the outer border, beginning with a cross pattée at the top. A beaded or milled border frames the entire design. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Denier Tournois was by 1576 a thoroughly exhausted denomination — a medieval workhorse coin whose value had been so eroded by centuries of debasement that striking one in silver was an explicit statement of intent rather than a practical monetary decision. This piece is a pattern, produced not for circulation but to demonstrate a proposed type to the relevant authority before committing to full production. Louis II de Bourbon-Montpensier had held Dombes since 1560, and the principality's semi-autonomous minting rights made it one of the few territories outside the French royal administration capable of issuing its own coinage during the religious wars.
Whether this type ever advanced beyond the pattern stage is not firmly established in the literature.