Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/3 Gold Lion - Philip the Good
| Issuer | Brabant, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1454-1460 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ✠ PhS × DEI × GRA × DVX × BVRG × DnS × MECHL (Translation: Philip, by God`s grace Duke of Burgundy and Lord of Mechelen) |
| Reverse description | The quartered heraldic shield of Burgundy, displaying the arms of Burgundy ancient (bendy of six or and azure, a bordure gules) and Burgundy modern (azure, three fleurs-de-lis or, a bordure compony argent and gules), set within a cusped polylobed inner circle framed by a beaded border. The shield is surmounted by a crown and rendered in fine Gothic detail. A circular legend in Gothic uncial script surrounds the polylobe, separated by mullet stops, bearing the devotional inscription from Psalms 113. The reverse composition is elegant and symmetrical, consistent with the refined heraldic style of Philip the Good's Brabantine coinage. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Philip the Good's monetary reforms of the 1450s were driven partly by the practical demands of financing Burgundian court life — among the most expensive in northern Europe — and partly by the need to maintain competitive coinage against the proliferating gold issues of neighboring principalities. The fractional lion denomination filled a specific transactional gap in Brabantine commerce, circulating alongside heavier pieces in a carefully tiered system Philip's treasury managed with unusual sophistication for the period.
The .958 fineness places this fractional well above the debased issues that plagued neighboring mints in the same decade.