Double Tournois - Henri III La Rochelle mint, 1st type

The double tournois as a copper denomination was reintroduced under Henri III in 1577 after decades of absence, part of a broader monetary ordinance intended to address the chronic shortage of small change that had plagued French commerce throughout the Wars of Religion. La Rochelle, then still a Huguenot stronghold operating under the terms of the Edict of Beaulieu, presents an interesting issuing authority for a royal copper coinage — the mint functioned under crown warrant even as the city retained substantial political autonomy.

CGKL 50a designates the first type, distinguished from later variants by specific obverse die characteristics formalized before the 1581 revision.