Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXIV 19-20 Jan 2021
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FRANCE, Royal. Charles V 'the Wise'. 1364-1380. AV Franc à pied (28mm, 3.77 g, 8h). Uncertain provincial mint. Struck after 1368. kΛROLVS :·: DI :·: GR FRΛnCORV :·: RЄX (S retrograde), king standing facing within Gothic arch; semé of seven lis to left and right, holding sword with annulet pommel, and main de Justice / + XPC * VInCIT * XPC * RЄnHΛT * XPC * IHPЄRΛT º, cross tréflée; in center of cross, pellet within angled quadrilobe; lis in first and fourth quarters, crown in second and third; all within angled quadrilobe; lis in spandrels. Duplessy 360A/360 (obv./rev.); Dieudonné 792; Ciani –; Friedberg 284; Triton XVII, lot 1000 (hammer $2900). Slightly double struck in parts. Lustrous. EF. The king particularly well struck up. Rare.
In 1356, French fortunes in the Hundred Years' War hit their nadir. The French king, Jean the Good, had been captured at Poitiers by Edward the Black Prince of Aquitaine. Negotiations concluded by Charles, the Dauphin, in 1360 saw a significant expansion of Edward's territory, although in return the English king Edward III promised to renounce his claim to the French throne. In any event the English prevaricated, never fulfilling their part of the agreement, and in 1368 Charles, now king, launched a new campaign against Aquitaine. By 1374 he had taken back all the lands that had been assigned to Aquitaine in 1360, and the Black Prince had departed, a broken man. The newly re-conquered land included the Anglo-Gallic mints of Limoges, Poitiers and La Rochelle, and issues of the franc à pied were struck at these mints, with appropriate mintmarks to distinguish them from the Paris issues. The present specimen is clearly not in the style of the Paris mint, and the annulet mark in the reverse legend most likely indicates a provincial issue. If not an official regal issue, it may have been struck by one of the lesser French lords in the newly recovered province of Aquitaine.
In 1356, French fortunes in the Hundred Years' War hit their nadir. The French king, Jean the Good, had been captured at Poitiers by Edward the Black Prince of Aquitaine. Negotiations concluded by Charles, the Dauphin, in 1360 saw a significant expansion of Edward's territory, although in return the English king Edward III promised to renounce his claim to the French throne. In any event the English prevaricated, never fulfilling their part of the agreement, and in 1368 Charles, now king, launched a new campaign against Aquitaine. By 1374 he had taken back all the lands that had been assigned to Aquitaine in 1360, and the Black Prince had departed, a broken man. The newly re-conquered land included the Anglo-Gallic mints of Limoges, Poitiers and La Rochelle, and issues of the franc à pied were struck at these mints, with appropriate mintmarks to distinguish them from the Paris issues. The present specimen is clearly not in the style of the Paris mint, and the annulet mark in the reverse legend most likely indicates a provincial issue. If not an official regal issue, it may have been struck by one of the lesser French lords in the newly recovered province of Aquitaine.