Liard - Charles I

The Principality of Arches-Charleville was a peculiar enclave — a sovereign territory embedded within the Kingdom of France, centered on the planned town of Charleville founded by Charles I of Gonzaga-Nevers in 1606. The liard was struck almost immediately after the town's founding, making this 1607 issue among the earliest coinage of the principality. Charles I, a French-born Italian duke, exploited his nominal sovereignty to operate a mint that France could not legally suppress, a privilege he defended vigorously against Parisian objections throughout his reign.