Gold Noble - Waleran III

Waleran III de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, struck this noble in direct imitation of the English gold noble introduced by Edward III in 1344. The decision was purely commercial — the English noble had become the dominant trade coin of the North Sea and Channel networks, and Flemish and French lords who could mint found it advantageous to produce compatible coinage. Waleran, who held his county as a French peer while maintaining extensive ties to the English crown, occupied an unusually ambiguous political position during the Hundred Years' War.

He was captured at Agincourt in 1415 and died in English captivity in 1415 — the terminus of this issue's production date is not coincidental.