Denier tournois - Philip II Augustus 1st type

Philip II's acquisition of Normandy in 1204 — stripped from the Angevins following King John's failure to appear before the French royal court — brought the Tours mint directly under Capetian control for the first time. The denier tournois had been the currency of the powerful Abbey of Saint-Martin de Tours, and Philip's appropriation of both the city and its coinage type was a deliberate political act, weaponizing a trusted regional currency to assert authority across newly absorbed territories.

The type preceded the standardized royal tournois that would dominate French medieval coinage for generations. Dy 176 distinguishes this first emission from later Philip issues by subtle differences in the castle châtel legend arrangement.