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Franc à cheval (the franc on horseback)

1360　・　gold　・　14th century　・　John II

Franc à cheval (the franc on horseback)（obverse）obverse
BnF / World Digital Library / Public domain（Wikimedia Commons）

About the photos

The reverse is not shown on this page. Only the obverse is pictured.

On 5 December 1360, by the ordinance of Compiègne, John II created a new gold coin, the franc à cheval, the franc on horseback. It shows the king in armour riding at a gallop with his sword held high: pure gold, about 3.82 grams in weight, value one livre tournois. Its first purpose was to pay the ransom for the king himself, taken prisoner at Poitiers. Opinions differ on where the name franc comes from, but the name of this one coin goes on living as the name of France's currency for some six centuries afterward.