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Helmeted Lion - Louis II de Mâle
| Issuer | County of Flanders |
|---|---|
| Year | 1365-1370 |
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| Currency | Groot (864-1506) |
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| Obverse description | Within an elaborate Gothic architectural framework of twin pinnacled columns and tracery, the helmeted lion of Flanders stands rampant to the left, wearing a visored helm and full armour, the tail raised and curled, set upon a decorative base. The word FLANDRES appears in the lower exergue within the architectural frame, serving as a territorial designation integrated into the design. A beaded inner circle separates the central device from the surrounding circumferential legend in Gothic uncial characters. The overall composition exemplifies the refined Gothic heraldic style characteristic of mid-fourteenth-century Flemish gold coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | LV | DOVICVS : DEI o GRA : COM` o ? : DnS : FLAnDR | IE (Translation: Louis, by the Grace of God, Count of Flanders) |
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| Additional information |
Louis II de Mâle struck this coin during a period when Flemish monetary policy was essentially a diplomatic weapon. Caught between France and England — his county's wool trade depended entirely on English fleece, while his feudal obligations ran to Paris — Louis manipulated his coinage repeatedly to manage competing economic pressures. The heavy gold issues of the late 1360s reflect a moment of relative stabilization following the Treaty of Ath in 1357, when Louis had reestablished control over his towns after the disastrous Battle of Crécy had already killed his father.
Louis died in 1384 without male heirs, passing Flanders to the Burgundian duchy through his daughter Margaret's marriage to Philip the Bold.