Groschen - Francis of Conzie Sede Vacante

The Comtat Venaissin, a papal enclave in southern France distinct from Avignon itself, issued coins in its own right during sede vacante periods — the intervals between popes when administrative authority fell to local officers. Francis of Conzie held the position of Rector of the Comtat during the vacancy that followed the Council of Constance's deposition of the rival claimants, a period of genuine constitutional uncertainty for a territory whose entire legal existence derived from papal sovereignty. Conzie was no minor figure; he served as a close administrator under multiple competing claimants during the Western Schism.

The schism had produced three simultaneous claimants by 1415, making "sede vacante" less a temporary formality than an extended political condition.