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Groschen Tournois - Charles V
| Issuer | Royal Mint of France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1364-1380 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central depiction of the Châtel Tournois, the stylized castle of Tours, surmounted by a royal crown, set within a raised inner circle. The castle emblem is rendered in the traditional Capetian-Valois manner with a crenellated tower flanked by turrets. Surrounding the central type, an outer border of twelve fleurs-de-lis arranged equidistantly within a beaded frame alludes to the coin's original value of twelve deniers tournois as established under Louis IX. A concise Latin legend occupies the outer field, separated from the fleur-de-lis border by a beaded circle. |
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| Reverse lettering | + TVRONVS ⁕ CIVIS (Translation: City of Tours.) |
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| Additional information |
Charles V inherited a monetary system devastated by his father's repeated debasements — John II had manipulated French coinage so aggressively during the 1350s that public trust in royal silver had nearly collapsed. The gros tournois Charles issued after his 1364 coronation was a deliberate stabilization measure, part of a broader fiscal reform that also included abolishing the fouage and restructuring royal taxation through the Estates General.
The tournois lineage itself traces back to the mints of Saint-Martin de Tours, though by Charles's reign the royal Paris operation had long since absorbed its practical authority.