Obol Tournois of Dauphine - Louis XI 1st issue

Louis XI inherited the Dauphiné not as king but as the rebellious dauphin who had fled there in 1447 after a falling-out with his father Charles VII, governing the province with enough independence that he maintained his own monetary administration for years before ascending the throne. When he became king in 1461, the Dauphiné retained distinct coinage rights, and this obol tournois reflects that administrative continuity — a provincial denomination issued under royal authority but rooted in a tradition older than his reign.

The near-absence of a Ciani reference for this type suggests it passed largely unnoticed by earlier cataloguers, a fate consistent with its negligible silver content and the denomination's role as the smallest practical unit of account in circulation.