Philippe IV inherited a monetary system his grandfather Louis IX had carefully rebuilt after decades of baronial debasement, and the gros tournois — introduced by Louis in 1266 — became the coin Philippe leaned on hardest to finance his relentless political campaigns. The wars against England in Gascony, the costly and ultimately catastrophic confrontation with Boniface VIII, and the suppression of Flanders all demanded silver on a scale that strained the royal mints continuously through this period.
By the later years of his reign, Philippe began the debasements that would define his monetary legacy in the worst sense — but issues struck in the earlier part of this date range still conform to the high fineness established under Louis IX.
Philippe IV inherited a monetary system his grandfather Louis IX had carefully rebuilt after decades of baronial debasement, and the gros tournois — introduced by Louis in 1266 — became the coin Philippe leaned on hardest to finance his relentless political campaigns. The wars against England in Gascony, the costly and ultimately catastrophic confrontation with Boniface VIII, and the suppression of Flanders all demanded silver on a scale that strained the royal mints continuously through this period.
By the later years of his reign, Philippe began the debasements that would define his monetary legacy in the worst sense — but issues struck in the earlier part of this date range still conform to the high fineness established under Louis IX.