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Ducat - Amadeus VIII
| Issuer | Savoy (France) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1416-1440 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | A nimbed saint, identified as the patron of Savoy, stands facing left in full episcopal vestments, holding a patriarchal cross in his left hand. To the right, a kneeling bishop in pontifical robes presents himself in supplication, holding a banner or flag between the two figures. The scene is rendered in the flat, linear style typical of early 15th-century Alpine coinage. The surrounding legend in Gothic uncial script invokes a liturgical benediction. The flan edges are irregular, consistent with the hammered production technique of the era. |
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| Reverse lettering | ⁑ SIT : nOm D` BEn`DICT (Translation: Blessed be the name of the Lord.) |
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| Additional information |
Amadeus VIII issued this ducat during a stretch that coincides almost exactly with his elevation to Duke of Savoy in 1416 — a title granted by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund in recognition of Savoy's strategic usefulness between France and the Empire. The ducat type follows the Venetian weight standard, a deliberate choice to ensure acceptance across the Alpine trade corridors that were Savoy's economic spine.
Amadeus abdicated in 1434, retiring to a hermit community at Ripaille on Lake Geneva — only to be elected Antipope Felix V in 1439, the last antipope in Western Church history. Coins struck after his abdication but before that election occupy an unusually ambiguous moment of issuing authority.