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Florin - Gaucher Adhemar
| Issuer | Lordship of Montélimar |
|---|---|
| Year | 1346-1360 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Fr#166 |
| Obverse description | A large fleur-de-lis occupies the central field, rendered in the Florentine style with finely detailed petals and stippled lobes, rising from a crosshatched base. A circular Latin legend runs along the periphery, separated from the central device by a border of pellets. The die workmanship is characteristic of mid-14th-century French imitative florins, showing bold relief typical of hammered gold coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Saint John the Baptist depicted standing facing, nimbed and draped in a long robe, his right hand raised in blessing and his left holding a long cross-staff. The figure is rendered in a hieratic Gothic style consistent with Florentine florin prototypes. A circular Latin legend surrounds the figure, bordered by a pellet ring, with the saint's name partially legible in Gothic lettering. |
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| Additional information |
Gaucher Adhémar, lord of Montélimar, issued these florins under the implicit authority granted by proximity to — and rivalry with — the papacy at Avignon. The Rhône corridor in this period was thick with petty lords exploiting the monetary vacuum left by intermittent French royal weakness and papal preoccupation with Italian politics. Adhémar was among the more aggressive of these issuers.
Friedberg 166 is notably scarce. Montélimar's minting operation was small and its political independence short-lived, squeezed between the Dauphiné to the east and the expanding reach of the French crown to the north.