Philippe IV, 1290

Duplessy 207; Friedberg 255, PCGS graded AU-58

Philip IV introduced the petit royal assis (“small seated royal”) in 1290 before he accrued the crushing debt problems that plagued his later reign and coinage. This coin was nicknamed for the facing depiction of the king seated on a lion-headed stool-throne known as the Throne of Dagobert. It was struck with the same weight and fineness of the widely accepted Florentine florin and became the first French gold coin to enjoy general circulation in Europe. Many of Philip’s petits royals assis were spent in the early phase of his conflict with Edward I of England in 1294-1298 and 1300-1303. This war grew out of a naval incident between the English and Norman French that Philip IV attempted to use as an excuse to reclaim the French lands held by Edward I in his capacity as Duke of Aquitaine. Although it was ultimately settled through a marriage alliance it provided the tiny spark that would later explode into the great conflagration of the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453).

August 1290. PhILIPPVS DEI GRACIA, king seated facing, holding scepter and lis. Reverse: + FR-ACO-RVm REX, cross feuillue and fleuronnée.

Ex Vinchon (30 May 2017), 1