FRANCE, Royal. Philippe VI de Valois (of Valois). 1328-1350. AV Royal d’or (26mm, 4.23 g, 8h). Authorized 2 May 1328. EF.

Keystone 16 – The David C. Bianchi II Collection
Lot: 460.
Closing Date: May 20 2026 10:00 ET

Medieval & Early Modern World – France, Gold

Estimate: $ 3 000

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FRANCE, Royal. Philippe VI de Valois (of Valois). 1328-1350. AV Royal d’or (26mm, 4.23 g, 8h). Authorized 2 May 1328. · PhS · RЄX · FRΛ · COR · (annulet stops), Philippe standing facing under gothic dais, holding scepter / + XP’C · VInCIT · XP’C · RЄGИAT · XP’C · IMPЄRAT, cross fleurée within quadrilobe; trefoils at cusps, crowns in spandrels. Duplessy 247; Ciani 269; Friedberg 271. EF.

From the David C. Bianchi II Collection. Ex Triton XVI (7 January 2013), lot 1361.

At the start of Philippe VI’s reign, French authorities set to restore the coinage and return to a hard money policy following years of debasement in the silver and billon coinage. A staged program was initiated, operating on a dual system of “tournois” and “parisis” issues in gold, silver, and billon. In gold, these were represented by the Royal d’or (lot 460) and the Parisis d’or (lot 461), respectively. Though a well meaning attempt, it was destined to fail due to the rising tensions with England, culminating in the outbreak of the Hundred Years’ War in 1337. From then on, debasement was once again the order of the day. The two metals maintained a roughly consisted ratio in official valuations until about 1342, when debasement of the silver coins accelerated rapidly, with rations shifting to as much as 5:1. In practice, even with these extreme ratios, the gold coinage was completely disconnected from the silver, with the French crown itself often unable to enforce their own valuations.

Though a nightmare for the royal administrators and merchants of the day, this monetary chaos created a boon to numismatists. The coins produced during Philippe’s reign represent some of the most exquisite pieces of medieval numismatic art. Many of the types derived from the basic designs of the earlier issues: the king seated on an ornate throne, sometimes under a canopy (see lots 462-465), while others set out novel types, such as the short-lived Couronne d’or (Duplessy 252), and the beautiful Ange d’or (Duplessy 255) and Florin Georges (Duplessy 257).

Closing Date and Time: 20 May 2026 at 12:33:00 ET.



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