Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Petit royal d'or - Philippe IV
| Issuer | France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1290 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A large ornate cross with foliated terminals bearing leaves and flowers, extending to the edge of the coin and intersecting the surrounding legend. Four fleurs-de-lis are placed in the four angles of the cross, filling the field and emphasizing the royal Capetian heraldic imagery. The overall composition is characteristic of the French royal gold coinage of Philip IV, with elegant Gothic decorative detailing. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Philippe IV introduced this coin in 1290, roughly a decade before his far more aggressive monetary manipulations began. The petit royal was part of a deliberate effort to stabilize royal coinage at a moment when the French crown was asserting tighter control over minting privileges previously scattered among feudal lords and ecclesiastical authorities. Within a few years, Philippe would earn the epithet "le Faux-Monnayeur" — the counterfeiter — from his own subjects for the debasements that followed.
The .999 fineness places this among the purest gold issues of the Capetian period, a standard Philippe would not maintain.