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!
Groat 'with Lion' - William II of Avesnes
| Issuer | Hainaut, County of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1339-1343 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Central field dominated by a bold rampant lion facing left, rendered in high relief in the Gothic heraldic style characteristic of Hainaut coinage. The lion is set within a cusped or lobate inner circle formed by an ornate Gothic architectural frame composed of alternating trefoil and quatrefoil motifs. The surrounding border is further decorated with rosettes and stylized floral ornaments within segmented roundels. The outer legend reads MONETA VALENCIE (Coinage of Valenciennes), referencing the mint city, rendered in Gothic majuscule letters. The overall design exhibits the refined decorative vocabulary typical of mid-14th-century Low Countries silver coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | MOnETA × VALEnC (Translation: Coinage of Valenciennes) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
William II of Avesnes — better known as William IV of Holland — issued this groat during the years he was simultaneously managing a war against the Frisians and navigating his county's relationship with Edward III of England, whose wool trade depended heavily on Flemish and Hainaut neutrality. William died in 1345 at the Battle of Stavoren, drowned in the Zuiderzee after his forces were routed by the Frisians, leaving no male heir and triggering the prolonged War of the Bavarian Succession over Holland and Hainaut.
The four-year window of this issue reflects a mint policy tied directly to William's fluctuating alliances rather than any administrative reform.