Liard à la croisette fleurdelisée - Henri III

Henri III issued these small billon pieces during a period when the Wars of Religion had effectively fractured royal financial administration. Multiple mints operated under contested authority, and the coinage of the late 1580s reflects a crown struggling to maintain monetary coherence while simultaneously fighting the Catholic League and navigating the succession crisis that would end his dynasty. Henri was assassinated by a Dominican friar in August 1589, meaning a portion of this issue's date range was struck under Henri IV — who simply continued the type until his own coinage could be organized.