Douzain of Dauphine - Francis I 5th type, with crosslet

The douzain — worth twelve deniers — was the workhorse coin of early sixteenth-century French commerce, and Francis I struck them in enormous volume across a dozen mints simultaneously. This fifth type introduced the crosslet as a distinguishing mark to differentiate successive emission orders, a necessary administrative tool when the same basic design ran continuously across decades and multiple monetary ordinances. The billon standard itself was repeatedly adjusted downward during his reign as silver reserves were strained by Italian campaign costs.