Catalog
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| Issuer | France |
|---|---|
| Year | 1521 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Right-facing armored bust of François I, wearing a closed crown with fleurs-de-lis and displaying shoulder-length hair beneath. The king is depicted in cuirass with draped pauldrons visible at the shoulder. The effigy is rendered in the Renaissance portrait style typical of early sixteenth-century French royal coinage. The legend encircles the bust within a beaded border, with the mintmark visible in the lower field. |
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| Obverse lettering | +. FRANCISCVS. DEI. GRA. FRACOR. REX. |
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| Additional information |
The Dauphiné teston was struck under François I as part of his broader effort to unify French coinage after decades of regional monetary fragmentation — the Dauphiné mint had long operated under semi-autonomous arrangements inherited from the annexation of 1457. This piece is a contemporary forgery, struck in silver but outside royal authority, likely produced to exploit the teston's wide acceptance in regional trade along the Rhône corridor. The Ciani gap is telling: forgers of this type were known enough to cataloguers that attribution remains contested.