Méreau de 6 deniers, contremarque au lion

Méreaux were internal tokens issued by cathedral chapters to record attendance at canonical hours — a clergyman presented his méreau at the end of each office to claim his daily distribution from the chapter's common fund. The lion counterstamp on this Cambrai piece almost certainly marks a revalidation, either after a chapter reform or to distinguish tokens still in authorized circulation from older or counterfeit issues.

The Chapter of Cambrai administered one of the wealthiest ecclesiastical establishments in the northern Low Countries, and by 1548 the city sat in contested Habsburg territory. Disruptions to chapter finances were common enough that revalidation by counterstamp was a practical, documented response.