Franc à cheval - Charles VII

The franc à cheval type was first introduced by Jean II in 1360 — struck specifically to pay his ransom after capture at Poitiers — and Charles VII's revival of the denomination in 1424 came at one of the lowest points of his reign. He had not yet been crowned, held only the south of France, and was mocked by his opponents as the "King of Bourges." That a gold coinage of this quality was struck at all under those circumstances reflects the fiscal effort required to maintain even the appearance of a functioning royal treasury during the Hundred Years' War.