Huitième d'écu - Charles X Cardinal de Bourbon

Charles X never ruled France in any practical sense. A Guise-backed figurehead proclaimed king by the Catholic League in 1589 after Henri III's assassination, he spent his entire "reign" as a prisoner of Henri IV at Fontenay-le-Comte. Coins struck in his name were issued by League-controlled mints acting on ideological necessity — legitimizing their cause required a king, even an imprisoned one. He died in captivity in 1590, yet minting in his name continued under League authority until 1598, when the Edict of Nantes effectively ended the confessional wars that had made his phantom kingship possible.