Obol Provencale Coronat - Charles I of Anjou

Charles I of Anjou was Count of Provence by right of his wife Beatrice, but his monetary ambitions in the region were inseparable from his conquest of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1266 and his subsequent obsession with Mediterranean dominance — including an abortive claim to the Byzantine throne. The coronat coinage, named for the crown motif, was issued during the last decade of his rule as his resources were increasingly strained by the Sicilian Vespers uprising of 1282, which effectively ended Angevin control of the island and forced a retrenchment of his continental revenues.

The obol represents the smallest denomination in this series. Rolland's die study identifies multiple emission phases across this window.