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Obol - Louis XI OBOLVS CIVIS, with polylobes
| Issuer | Kingdom of France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1461 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 13 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Louis XI came to power in 1461 determined to dismantle the monetary privileges that his father Charles VII had extended to the great lords, and his early coinage reforms reflect that centralizing drive. The OBOLVS CIVIS — citizen's obol — was part of a broader effort to push royal petty coinage into urban markets that had long relied on seigneurial issues of dubious fineness. At barely 0.059 fine, this piece was itself hardly a model of monetary integrity, but it was the king's billon, not a baron's.
The multiple variant references across Dy, Gadoury, Ciani, and Lafaurie suggest this type was produced across more than one atelier with meaningful die variation, though a definitive census has never been established.