Robert II, the Pius, 1020

Duplessy 4, PCGS graded VF-25

Robert II came to be known as le Pieux (“the Pious”) due to his Catholic religious devotion. The sobriquet also stems from his great intolerance for heretics—he reportedly reintroduced burning at the stake as the punishment for heresy and attempted to forcibly convert the Jewish population of the kingdom. However, Robert II’s piety seems not to have extended into the realm of marriage. He was married three times: the first two marriages were annulled, but Robert II was forced to keep his third wife when Pope Sergius IV had had enough and refused to give him a third annulment. If the king’s relationships with his wives were poor, they were outright disastrous with his sons. The last five years of his reign were spent at war with his three sons, Hugh, Henri, and Robert. Robert II died during the conflict, leaving Henri I to succeed.

Paris. ROT-BER-TVS, REX in field. Reverse: PARISIVS CIVITAS, short cross.

Ex CGB (24 July 2006), 775