FRANCE, Royal. Louis IX (Saint Louis). 1226–1270. AR Gros tournois (25mm, 4.02 g, 1h). Struck 1266-1270. EF.

Keystone 16 – The David C. Bianchi II Collection
Lot: 446.
Closing Date: May 20 2026 10:00 ET

Medieval & Early Modern World – France, Silver

Estimate: $ 200

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FRANCE, Royal. Louis IX (Saint Louis). 1226–1270. AR Gros tournois (25mm, 4.02 g, 1h). Struck 1266-1270. Short cross pattée / Châtel tournois; border of twelve lis. Van Hengel L16; Duplessy 190D; Ciani –. Richly toned. EF.

From the David C. Bianchi II Collection.

Issued by St. Louis in 1266 the gros tournois was ‘the first heavy silver coin to be struck north of the Alps, and was nearly a gram heavier than the grosso introduced thirteen years earlier at Rome. It was of ‘pure’ silver, i.e. of argent-le-roi (958/1000 fine), weighed 4.22g, and was worth exactly 12 denier tournois or one sou (solidus). Its design was basically that of the denier, but the chatel side was surrounded with a border of 12 ovoids each containing a fleur de lis - the number was perhaps intended to indicate the value and the cross side by a religious invocation.’ (Grierson, pp. 114–5).

Closing Date and Time: 20 May 2026 at 12:28:20 ET.



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