Denier Tournois - Louis II 1st type, Silver pattern strike

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.