Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXV 22-23 Sep 2022
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France, Kingdom. Philippe VI de Valois AV Ange d'or. Third emission, struck from 26 June 1342. PHILLIPPVS ⁑ D GRA ⁑ FRAC ⁑ RЄX, Archangel Michael standing beneath baldaquin facing, holding long cross resting on the head of a defeated dragon and resting on coat-of-arms / ✠ XP ⁑ C ⁑ VINCIT ⁑ XP ⁑ C ⁑ REGИAT ⁑ XP ⁑ C ⁑ IMPERAT, cross quadrilobée and fleuronnée; all within quadrilobe with inward-facing lis in each angle, crown in each spandrel. Duplessy 255B; Ciani -; Lafaurie 258b; Friedberg 273. 5.48g, 32mm, 5h.
Mint State; a magnificent example of this prestigious type. Rare, and the finest example to be offered at auction in over twenty years.
Acquired from Burgan Numismatique;
Privately purchased from Jean Vinchon Numismatique on 18/12/2000.
Philip VI's position as king of France was precarious from the very beginning of his reign in 1328, indeed his succession was by no means guaranteed. After Charles IV died without a son, debate raged amongst the French prelates and barons as to who was his legal heir. The two claimants were Philip de Valois and Edward III of England; while Edward had the closer familial relation to the deceased king as his nephew by Charles's sister Isabella, it was determined that his claim should be disregarded due to its being transmitted through a female line. Thus Philip, a grandson of Philip III, was appointed king and was immediately eager to emphasise the legitimacy of his accession against that of his rival, an endeavour that would occupy him for the entirety of his reign.
As had been the case with their predecessors, relations between the French and English kings deteriorated as a result of seemingly superficial slights that masked the more profound, existential questions of who had the greater claim to the French throne. By virtue of his duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony, Edward III was officially a vassal to any king of France and, as such, due to pay homage, but this was an unstable hierarchy. Summons to attend the French court shortly after Philip assumed power were greeted with disdain by Edward, who, when he did arrive at the cathedral of Amiens in 1329, was not sufficiently deferential as far as Philip perceived. The offence caused during this interaction set the precedent for the tone of their relationship henceforth and their disputes regarding the duchy of Aquitaine would eventually worsen to the point of war being declared in 1337, when Edward declared himself the rightful king of France.
By 1342, the year in which this coin was struck, there had been no lessening of hostilities, indeed two years prior the French, having enjoyed initial success on the battlefield, suffered their first significant defeat at the naval battle of Sluys, which exacerbated Philip's anxiety about his hold on power. The explicit religious and regal imagery on Philip's coinage, as exemplified in the present coin, should be seen as a direct attempt to convey both his divine and legal right to his throne within the context of repeated challenges to his legitimacy.
Mint State; a magnificent example of this prestigious type. Rare, and the finest example to be offered at auction in over twenty years.
Acquired from Burgan Numismatique;
Privately purchased from Jean Vinchon Numismatique on 18/12/2000.
Philip VI's position as king of France was precarious from the very beginning of his reign in 1328, indeed his succession was by no means guaranteed. After Charles IV died without a son, debate raged amongst the French prelates and barons as to who was his legal heir. The two claimants were Philip de Valois and Edward III of England; while Edward had the closer familial relation to the deceased king as his nephew by Charles's sister Isabella, it was determined that his claim should be disregarded due to its being transmitted through a female line. Thus Philip, a grandson of Philip III, was appointed king and was immediately eager to emphasise the legitimacy of his accession against that of his rival, an endeavour that would occupy him for the entirety of his reign.
As had been the case with their predecessors, relations between the French and English kings deteriorated as a result of seemingly superficial slights that masked the more profound, existential questions of who had the greater claim to the French throne. By virtue of his duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony, Edward III was officially a vassal to any king of France and, as such, due to pay homage, but this was an unstable hierarchy. Summons to attend the French court shortly after Philip assumed power were greeted with disdain by Edward, who, when he did arrive at the cathedral of Amiens in 1329, was not sufficiently deferential as far as Philip perceived. The offence caused during this interaction set the precedent for the tone of their relationship henceforth and their disputes regarding the duchy of Aquitaine would eventually worsen to the point of war being declared in 1337, when Edward declared himself the rightful king of France.
By 1342, the year in which this coin was struck, there had been no lessening of hostilities, indeed two years prior the French, having enjoyed initial success on the battlefield, suffered their first significant defeat at the naval battle of Sluys, which exacerbated Philip's anxiety about his hold on power. The explicit religious and regal imagery on Philip's coinage, as exemplified in the present coin, should be seen as a direct attempt to convey both his divine and legal right to his throne within the context of repeated challenges to his legitimacy.