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Liard of Dauphine - Charles VIII dolphin on reverse
| Issuer | Royal French Mint (Dauphiné) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1483-1498 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Livre tournois (1204-1795) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin (uncial) |
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| Reverse description | At the center of the reverse, within a beaded inner circle, a crowned dolphin is depicted in profile facing left, its body curved and fins extended, serving as the heraldic emblem of the Dauphiné region. The surrounding circular Latin legend DALPHIS VIENENSIS runs between two beaded borders along the outer periphery. The design is characteristic of the provincial coinage struck for the Dauphiné under Charles VIII, with the dolphin symbolizing the Dauphin of Viennois. The hammered strike shows typical irregularities of the era. |
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| Additional information |
Charles VIII inherited the Dauphiné title at birth — as eldest son of Louis XI he was Dauphin from 1470 — but the province retained its own mint and coinage traditions well into his reign as king, a legacy of the 1349 transfer of Dauphiné to the French crown under the condition that the heir apparent would always bear its title. The liard denominations struck there occupy an awkward monetary moment: Charles's Italian ambitions after 1494 redirected enormous fiscal energy toward war finance, yet small billon coinage continued rolling out of provincial mints on older administrative inertia.
The Ciani gap in the references is worth noting — this type apparently fell outside his systematic coverage rather than being genuinely unrecorded.