Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Double tournois - Jean II
| Issuer | Kingdom of France (Jean II) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1350-1364 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.35 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Crowned royal bust of Jean II facing right, depicted in a stylized Gothic manner characteristic of mid-14th century French coinage. The king wears a fleur-de-lis crown, rendered in low relief with considerable wear consistent with circulated billon coinage. The royal effigy is enclosed within a circular legend in uncial Latin letters reading IOHANNES FRANCORV REX, identifying the issuer as King of France. The flan is irregular in shape, as typical of hammered medieval issues, and the strike is slightly off-center. The overall style reflects the artistic conventions of the Capetian-Valois royal workshop. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | IOhAnnES FRAnCORV REX |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Jean II inherited a kingdom already financially exhausted by the Hundred Years' War, and his monetary policy lurched between repeated debasements and short-lived currency reforms. The double tournois of his reign was produced under conditions of near-constant monetary instability — Jean's administration issued dozens of distinct ordonnances adjusting coin weights and fineness between 1350 and 1364, making consistent production essentially impossible. His capture at Poitiers in 1356 and subsequent imprisonment in England compounded the crisis, as the enormous ransom demand of three million gold écus forced yet further debasement of the billon coinage to generate revenue.