Prince Louis of Burgundy, of Frankish Morea.

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by seth77, Oct 10, 2018.

  1. seth77

    seth77 Well-Known Member

    This summer to early autumn, Lanz offered -- through its daily auctions on ebay -- a collection of deniers tournois of Frankish Greece. Among the regular types and some interesting variations, there were also three important rarities: 2 deniers of Louis of Burgundy (1313-1316) and one of Infante Ferdinand de Majorca, pretendent Prince of Achaea (1315-1316).

    One of the deniers of Louis was indeed very interesting, as it is probably the best-preserved specimen that I have seen for the type:

    louis.JPG
    Pic from Lanz.


    Specs are: AR18x20mm, 0.8g billon denier tournois, of very good title for the time, minted at Glarentza cca. 1314-1315 or July 1316, Malloy 29, Schlumbereger XII, 23.


    Louis was Prince of Achaea and titular King of Thessalonica during an uncertain period of conflict between the Angevins and the Catalan Company in Greece. He ruled by jus uxoris and was recognized as prince between 1313 and 1315 and then again after defeating Ferdinand de Majorca at Manolada in July 1316.

    Coins were minted in his name possibly between 1314 and 1315 or in July 1316. There is only one series of tournois recorded for Louis and it only has one small variation (Malloy 29-30, p.365) which makes his coins very rare.

    His rule as husband of Mathilde/Maude/Mahaut de Hainaut in Morea was supposed to tie the Principality to an alliance between the Burgundians and Angevins against Catalan encroachment. Alas, Louis died childless and the Burgundian investment in this joint venture was minimized. His victory at Manolada though secured the continuation of Angevin overlordship over Frankish Morea.

    Louis was just 19 when he died.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2018
    Orielensis, Sulla80, VD76 and 18 others like this.
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. Mat

    Mat Ancient Coincoholic

    Very nice addition, Seth.
     
  4. TheRed

    TheRed Well-Known Member

    That is a great coin Seth. For a denier tournois it looks exceptional. Is Malloy's book on the coins of the Crusader States the best reference for the coins of Frankish Greece?
     
  5. Aethelred

    Aethelred The Old Dead King

    Great coin, funny I was looking at one earlier today which was not as nice as this.
     
  6. seth77

    seth77 Well-Known Member

    I find Malloy's book the most easy to use and a great introduction to Crusader numismatics in general. There are also at least two other great books: Schlumberger's Numismatique de l'Orient Latin and Cecchinato's Il denaro tornese della Grecia franca.

    I find that the tournois of Louis of Burgundy are even scarcer than the ones minted for Ferdinand de Majorca: for Louis there is only one emission, while Ferdinand had two (although small scale) emissions. This might give some hints to the dating of his coinage, but as of now that would only be conjecture.
     
  7. FitzNigel

    FitzNigel Medievalist

    Roberts book on French silver coins also covers the imitative denier tournois of the crusaders in Greece
     
    Oldhoopster likes this.
  8. Eliazar

    Eliazar New Member

    Nice article. Most collectors are unaware of the period of the Latin kings.
     
  9. VD76

    VD76 Well-Known Member

    Here is my coin
    A099BE93-6C70-4BDB-A1B6-398FB896AEC7.jpeg
    9319F92B-1210-46E8-B584-E337DFDE6989.jpeg
     
    TheRed, Bing and seth77 like this.
  10. VD76

    VD76 Well-Known Member

    Received today !!
    52E8E856-AFA4-405D-B8B7-922EAF0AE479.jpeg BEE0A0AD-65CD-4417-9710-FABBC8D86365.jpeg
     
    TheRed, seth77 and Bing like this.
  11. seth77

    seth77 Well-Known Member

    Excellent condition.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page