Teston - Charles IX

Charles IX was twelve years old when he took the throne, and Catherine de Medici governed as regent through the earliest years covered by this issue. The teston itself was already a century-old denomination by 1562, but the French religious wars — the first of which broke out that very year with the Massacre of Vassy in March — created serious disruptions to mint operations across the kingdom.

The two-year window of this strike coincides almost exactly with the opening phase of the Huguenot conflicts, when bullion flows were erratic and several provincial mints operated under contested authority.