Philippe VI, 1340

Duplessy 252; Friedberg 275, PCGS graded MS-63

The couronne d’or denomination was introduced by Philip VI in 1340 and departs from the king’s earlier types featuring the image of the king seated or standing in various royal contexts. Here the king is replaced by the representation of a crown serving to underline Philip VI’s legitimacy as King of France in the face of the claims of Edward III. The rectangular crown with fleur-de-lis ornaments is the famous Crown of Charlemagne, which had been used first for the coronation of the Frankish King Charles the Bald (843-877). The original jeweled circlet received the addition of fleur-de-lis in the time of Philip II Augustus (1180-1223) and continued to be used to crown the kings of France until the coronation of Louis XVI in 1775.

29 January 1340. + Ph’ DI GRA REX FRA?C, royal crown in a field of six lis. Reverse: + XPC VInCIT XPC REG?AT XPC IMPERAT, cross fleurée within polylobe, alternating crowns and lis in angles, trefoils in spandrels.

Ex Heritage (8 January 2018), 32189