Franc à Cheval - William III of Bavaria

William III ruled Hainaut from 1356 until his death in 1389, a reign defined largely by the dynastic maneuvering of the Valois dukes pressing in from the south and ongoing friction with the bishopric of Liège. The franc à cheval type was introduced in France under Jean II in 1360 as part of a monetary reform following his disastrous capture at Poitiers, and its prestige spread quickly — neighboring principalities adopted the format to facilitate trade and assert parity with French royal coinage.

Hainaut's gold output from this period is genuinely scarce in surviving examples, as the county's mints operated intermittently under financial pressure throughout William's reign.