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Small Blanc with sun of Dauphine - Louis XI
| Issuer | France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1475-1483 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin (uncial) |
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| Reverse description | A plain cross pattee divides the field into four quarters, each containing an alternating charge of a fleur-de-lis or a dolphin, emblematic of the Dauphine. The design is enclosed within a beaded inner circle, with the circumferential uncial Latin legend + SIT nOmEn DnI BEnEDITVM running along the outer margin. The struck surface displays the typical irregularity associated with hammered medieval billon coinage. |
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| Additional information |
Louis XI struck these billon blancs from the Dauphiné mints during the final decade of his reign — a period defined less by military conquest than by the systematic dismantling of the great feudal lordships through bribery, diplomacy, and patient political maneuvering. The Dauphiné had been formally annexed to the French crown in 1349, but its monetary identity remained distinct; the sun privy mark signals production from that region's mints rather than the royal ateliers of the Île-de-France.
Billon at .359 fine was already scraping the lower boundary of silver coinage, reflecting chronic bullion shortages that plagued French minting throughout the 1470s.