Noble - Philip the Bold

Philip the Bold introduced the noble to Flanders in deliberate imitation of the English gold noble, a coin that had dominated Northern European trade since Edward III struck the first ones in 1344. The Flemish textile economy ran on English wool, and English merchants demanded payment in recognizable, trusted gold — a political as much as monetary calculation drove the design choice.

Philip had acquired Flanders through his 1369 marriage to Margaret III, and his coinage program was one of several instruments he used to consolidate Burgundian authority over a county with a long history of monetary independence from its nominal overlords.