Denier with leopard - Edward III

Edward III's Aquitaine deniers occupy an awkward political moment: he held the duchy as a vassal of the French crown, a subordination he found increasingly intolerable and which contributed directly to the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War in 1337. Coinage issued from Bordeaux and other Gascon mints during this span was partly a practical necessity for local trade and partly an assertion of ducal authority in a territory the Valois kings were actively working to absorb.

The billon content varied considerably across the issue, and surviving examples show wide discrepancies in alloy quality — likely reflecting metal supply disruptions during wartime rather than intentional debasement.