Dizain 'Franciscus' - Francis I 3rd type

The dizain was introduced under Louis XII as a token-value billon coin — worth ten deniers tournois — intended to address the chronic shortage of small change that plagued French daily commerce throughout the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Francis I inherited both the denomination and its problems. The "3rd type" designation reflects successive refinements to the design under his reign, driven partly by counterfeiting pressure on the earlier issues.

The "Franciscus" inscription distinguishes his issues cleanly from his predecessor's, a deliberate assertion of new reign rather than administrative continuity.