Groschen - Philip II

Philip II of Spain inherited the County of Burgundy — the Franche-Comté — through the Habsburgs, and this issue dates to a moment when his administration of the Low Countries and Burgundian territories was under severe strain from the Dutch Revolt. The Franche-Comté itself remained comparatively loyal, but financing the war in the north demanded constant fiscal pressure, and billon coinage of reduced intrinsic value was one instrument of that pressure.

The Boudeau reference places this squarely within the documented Burgundian provincial series. Billon issues from this region and period are frequently found corroded or poorly preserved; a clean example is genuinely uncommon.