Esterlin Quarter Gros - Jean the Blind

Jean de Luxembourg, Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, struck these small silver pieces during a reign that spanned the courts of central Europe. The esterlin — a denomination borrowed directly from the English sterling tradition and widely copied across the Low Countries in the early fourteenth century — was part of Jean's effort to integrate Luxembourg's coinage into the broader commercial currency of the region. He died at Crécy in 1346, blind for over a decade, led into battle by a knight so he could strike at least one blow. His horse was found tethered to the horses of his dead companions the following morning.