Double Tournois - Francis II

Dombes occupied a peculiar position in the patchwork of French feudal sovereignty — technically a principality within the kingdom, yet its rulers struck their own copper coinage with considerable autonomy. Francis II of Bourbon-Montpensier held the title from 1582 until his death in 1592, and these double tournois were struck across roughly a six-year window during which the Wars of Religion were actively destabilizing royal authority throughout France. The weakness of the crown during this period was precisely what allowed peripheral lordships like Dombes to mint so freely.

The Divo reference spanning five catalog numbers signals meaningful die variation across the issue — not a single homogeneous type.