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Gold Ecu with Knight - Charles of France
| Issuer | Aquitaine, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1469-1472 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A floriated cross pattée at center, its four arms extending to the inner beaded circle and terminating in fleurs-de-lis, with a quatrefoil at the center. In each of the four angles formed by the cross arms appears a heraldic device: fleurs-de-lis in two quarters and lions passant guardant in the others, reflecting the combined arms of France and Aquitaine. A Gothic Latin legend in the outer margin, separated by mullets, encircles the entire design and invokes the Christological acclamation. The workmanship is consistent with late fifteenth-century French feudal hammered gold production. |
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| Mintage | ND (1469-1472) |
| Additional information |
Charles of France, younger brother of Louis XI, received Aquitaine as an appanage in 1469 following years of bitter dynastic rivalry — he had previously been the figurehead of the League of the Public Weal, a coalition of grands seigneurs who had forced concessions from the crown in 1465. Louis granted him the duchy largely to neutralize him politically. Charles died in 1472 under circumstances suspicious enough that contemporaries openly accused Louis of poisoning him, ending the appanage after barely three years.
The brief window of this issue accounts for its scarcity. No successor continued the type.