Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XX 29-30 Oct 2020
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France, Kingdom. Philippe VI de Valois (1328-1350) AV Couronne d'or. Struck from 29 January 1340. ✠ ˣ PҺ' ˣ DI ˣ GRA ˣ REX ˣ FRANC ˣ, royal crown fleurdelisée ornamented with trefoils, pellet-in-annulets and angled quadrilobes; set with a field of six lis / ✠ ◦ XP'C ⁝ VINCIT ⁝ XP'C ⁝ RЄGNAT ⁝ XP'C ⁝ IMPЄRAT, cross feuillue and glandée with voided quatrefoil at centre; all within polylobe, crowns and lis in angles, trefoils in spandrels. Duplessy 252; Ciani 271; Friedberg 275. 5.43g, 33mm, 10h.
Mint State; previously PCGS graded MS64. Extremely Rare, and the finest known example.
From the Long Valley River Collection;
Ex MDC Monnaies de Collection sarl, Auction 3, 1 December 2017, lot 372 (hammer: EUR 52,000).
"In its simplicity, this coin is one of the masterpieces of numismatics for the Gothic period", was the assessment of M. Dhenin, and since the type was only issued for three months, this coin stands as the finest known specimen of one of the rarest French late medieval types ('La couronne de France d'après les monnaies', in: La Monnaie mirair des Rois, exposition à la Monnaie de Paris, 1978, pp. 205-229). As a couronne d'or, this coin is the foremost example of the most valuable gold denomination of the French kingdom to date. Whereas other coinage produced around this time, like the gold Lion d'or of 1338, depicted the monarch enthroned within a Gothic portico (Duplessy 250; Ciani 290; Friedberg 265), here it is the royal crown, not the king's image, which receives such magnificent artistic treatment. The reverse type is consistent with previous gold denominations, whereas this exquisite object represented on the obverse marked a numismatic development: it displayed the Crown of Charlemagne, which first adorned the head of King Charles the Bald (843-877). Under Philippe II (1180-1223), the heraldic symbol of the fleur-de-lis was added to the original jewelled design and the crown was worn by French monarchs right up to the last king before the French Revolution, Louis XVI, 435 years after this coin was minted.
The iconography of this design is significant in affirming Philippe's legitimate claim to the French throne. The production of this issue should be understood within a turbulent historical context: it can be characterised as a response to the proclamation of Edward III as King of France (January 26, 1340). Heralded as the first Valois king when his cousin Charles IV died without an heir in 1328, Philippe 'the Fortunate' seemed initially to be on good terms with Edward III of England, the alternative heir to the French throne. However, tensions arose over claims to the Duchy of Aquitaine and a series of diplomatic disputes precipitated the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War in 1337. "Let it now be known that at whatever hour you approach, you will find us ready to meet you in the field, with God's help, which thing we desire above all else for the common good of Christendom", read the fighting words of Edward in a letter to Philippe, and indeed the English proved to be ready in the early years of the war (Calendar of Patent Rolles (1345-48), 516-517, dated August 1346). Philippe's initial successes were eclipsed by colossal naval defeat at Sluys in the year this coin was minted, and later at the Battle of Crécy in 1346. The death toll reached as many as 3.5 million deaths by the time of the eventual French victory in the Hundred Years' War in 1453 (Matthew White, National Geographic, 2020). When viewed within this wartime climate and amidst conflicts over succession, this coin and its regalia assume great historical significance, matching its obvious numismatic and artistic merit.
Mint State; previously PCGS graded MS64. Extremely Rare, and the finest known example.
From the Long Valley River Collection;
Ex MDC Monnaies de Collection sarl, Auction 3, 1 December 2017, lot 372 (hammer: EUR 52,000).
"In its simplicity, this coin is one of the masterpieces of numismatics for the Gothic period", was the assessment of M. Dhenin, and since the type was only issued for three months, this coin stands as the finest known specimen of one of the rarest French late medieval types ('La couronne de France d'après les monnaies', in: La Monnaie mirair des Rois, exposition à la Monnaie de Paris, 1978, pp. 205-229). As a couronne d'or, this coin is the foremost example of the most valuable gold denomination of the French kingdom to date. Whereas other coinage produced around this time, like the gold Lion d'or of 1338, depicted the monarch enthroned within a Gothic portico (Duplessy 250; Ciani 290; Friedberg 265), here it is the royal crown, not the king's image, which receives such magnificent artistic treatment. The reverse type is consistent with previous gold denominations, whereas this exquisite object represented on the obverse marked a numismatic development: it displayed the Crown of Charlemagne, which first adorned the head of King Charles the Bald (843-877). Under Philippe II (1180-1223), the heraldic symbol of the fleur-de-lis was added to the original jewelled design and the crown was worn by French monarchs right up to the last king before the French Revolution, Louis XVI, 435 years after this coin was minted.
The iconography of this design is significant in affirming Philippe's legitimate claim to the French throne. The production of this issue should be understood within a turbulent historical context: it can be characterised as a response to the proclamation of Edward III as King of France (January 26, 1340). Heralded as the first Valois king when his cousin Charles IV died without an heir in 1328, Philippe 'the Fortunate' seemed initially to be on good terms with Edward III of England, the alternative heir to the French throne. However, tensions arose over claims to the Duchy of Aquitaine and a series of diplomatic disputes precipitated the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War in 1337. "Let it now be known that at whatever hour you approach, you will find us ready to meet you in the field, with God's help, which thing we desire above all else for the common good of Christendom", read the fighting words of Edward in a letter to Philippe, and indeed the English proved to be ready in the early years of the war (Calendar of Patent Rolles (1345-48), 516-517, dated August 1346). Philippe's initial successes were eclipsed by colossal naval defeat at Sluys in the year this coin was minted, and later at the Battle of Crécy in 1346. The death toll reached as many as 3.5 million deaths by the time of the eventual French victory in the Hundred Years' War in 1453 (Matthew White, National Geographic, 2020). When viewed within this wartime climate and amidst conflicts over succession, this coin and its regalia assume great historical significance, matching its obvious numismatic and artistic merit.