Flanders (1373-77) 2 groat
This specimen was lot 1412 in Jean Elsen sale 154 (Brussels, March 2023), where it sold for €150 (about US$194 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"VLAANDEREN, Graafschap, Lodewijk van Male (1346-1384), AR dubbele groot (plak), 4e uitgifte (1373-1377), Gent. Met klaverblad, ronde unciale E en interpunctie door 2 punten. Vz/ Zittende leeuw n. l. met toernooihelm. Kz/ Kort gebloemd kruis met dubbel omschrift. goede Zeer Fraai. (county of Flanders, Louis de Male, 1346-84, silver double groat or plaque, fourth issue of 1373-77, Ghent mint, With cloverleaf, round uncial E and punctuated by 2 points. Obverse: seated, helmeted lion; reverse: short floriate cross with double row legend. good Very Fine.)"
Louis II de Male was count of Flanders when that province was one of the richest regions of Europe. Nominally part of France, Louis refused to pay homage to either the king of France or the king of England, steering a neutral course during the Hundred Years War. Later, he married his daughter to Philip, duke of Burgundy, uniting the two houses against the authority of the king of France.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 4,13 g.
Catalog reference: Gaill. 224; Elsen 30; Goddeeris 77, D; Martiny, Gent, 40-4.
- Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 154, Trouvaille de Labuissière, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2023.
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