Philippe VI, the first Valois king, inherited a monetary system already strained by decades of manipulation under the later Capetians. His reign saw near-constant debasement cycles — the billon content of petty coinage was adjusted repeatedly as war finance demands escalated, particularly after Edward III's claim to the French throne formalized the opening phase of what became the Hundred Years' War. The double parisis occupied the lowest practical tier of the silver-billon coinage, produced in enormous volumes for everyday transactions.
Duplessy's royal series places this type at reference 266, the first of Philippe's double parisis issues before subsequent debasements pushed billon fractions even lower.
Philippe VI, the first Valois king, inherited a monetary system already strained by decades of manipulation under the later Capetians. His reign saw near-constant debasement cycles — the billon content of petty coinage was adjusted repeatedly as war finance demands escalated, particularly after Edward III's claim to the French throne formalized the opening phase of what became the Hundred Years' War. The double parisis occupied the lowest practical tier of the silver-billon coinage, produced in enormous volumes for everyday transactions.
Duplessy's royal series places this type at reference 266, the first of Philippe's double parisis issues before subsequent debasements pushed billon fractions even lower.