26 Centuries of Gold
1357-1364 FRANCE

Obverse:

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Reverse:

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Coin Details

Origin/Country: FRANCE - TO 1600
Item Description: F'CHEV (1350-64) FR-279 JEAN II LE BON (3.79g)
Full Grade: NGC MS 61
Owner: deposito

Set Details

Custom Sets: 26 Centuries of Gold
Competitive Sets: This coin is not competing in any sets.
Research: NGC Coin Price Guide
NGC World Coin Census

Owner Comments:

This is the first franc. From the early days of the English victories against the French in the Hundred Years War.

King John II the Good de Valois of France (Jean le Bon) struck these coins starting in 1360. The franc means freedom. The design depicts the hapless John, a triumphant king on horseback. Like our gold solidus of the Roman Emperor Honorius, this design is sadly ironic.

In 1356 King John gathered a great army to challenge raiding by the English King Edward III's oldest son, Edward the Black Prince. In September of 1356 King John and his youngest son Louis were both captured at the battle of Poitiers which ensued. They were taken back to England, but King John was released with prince Louis staying behind as security. But prince Louis escaped, and King John voluntarily returned to captivity in London as a matter of good faith and honor. These coins were struck in celebration of the King's short-lived liberty. The second time he went to London was the last time King John would go anywhere, for he died in captivity in London four years later. The irony is made deeper by the circumstances of the battle of Poitiers, where the German and French mounted knights, probably equipped much like the figure on the coin, were mowed down by English archers in a manner reminiscent of the humiliating battle of Crecy 10 years earlier.

The coin bears the standard pious Latin legend "Johannes Dei Gratia Francorum Rex" (John, by the Grace of God, King of the Franks). Called the franc a cheval ("equestrian franc") because of the mounted pose, it circulated simultaneously with the franc a pied ("franc on foot"), issued by Charles V of France with a likeness of the king standing under a canopy.

This particular coin appears in the Lego Animation of the 1356 Battle of Poitiers at https://youtu.be/7-tNQVwvuW0

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