About Alphonse de France as Count of Toulouse I have written an entry a few months ago (It can be read here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/al...sader-and-peer-of-france.329959/#post-3290764) But before getting the hand of Jeanne de Toulouse in marriage and thus securing the inheritance of an old adversary of the Capetians, Raymond VII de Toulouse, the minor Alphonse received as appanage from his father, King Louis VIII of France, the County of Poitou (and Auvergne) as early as 1225. Both this granted appanage and the on and off-going conflict, brought on by the fallout from the Albigensian Crusade, pitted Capetian interests against the Saint-Gilles of Toulouse and the Marquisate de Provence, which culminated with the Saintoge War and the Battle of Taillebourg, where the combined armies of Louis IX of France and Alphonse achieved a brilliant victory over the Lusignans and their liege lord Henry III of England, in 1242. As a result of this battle, and due to a very astute policy by the winning side, Hugo X de Lusignan was allowed to save face and keep many of his possesions while the Plantagenet interests lost much of their influence in the Poitevin realms. The Saintoge War and especially Taillebourg added to the blows dealt by the Capetians to the Plantagenets, which had started with the great losses endured by John Lackland at the beginning of the 1200s. The denier ou poitevin is well known from the very numerous issues of the type minted for Richard Coeur de Lion in the 1190s (and perhaps even later as an immobilized type?) Richard Plantagenet as King of England and Count of Poitou, cca. 1189-1196, possibly even later into the early phases of John's reign. In 1263, Louis IX gave an ordonnance forbidding liege realms from minting imitation coinage after the royal types, especially the denier tournois, which had been the Poitevin coinage at least since 1250. As a result, Alphonse de France reverts to the earlier Plantagenet era coinage, calling his new denomination denier ou poitevin neuf, around cca. 1264. Denier ou poitevin neuf by Alphonse de France, after 1264. This new coin was minted about 1264-1268 and again in 1271 at Montreuil-Bonnin and kept the overall specifications of the denier tournois (which is what separates the new coin from the older pre-Capetian coinage of Poitou, that was struck from higher title billon) while adopting the earlier design. + ALFVNS ' COMES; Cross, lys in third quarter PIC / TAVIE / NSIS in three lines. Boudeau 429 p.54, Poey d'Avant 2578, Pl. 55 no. 1, Duplessy 929. In term of design, the important distinction (which was also employed on the toulousains which were minted by him starting with 1249/50) is the lys, used as symbol of Alphonse's Capetian family and his position as Prince of France. After the death of Alphonse without leaving heirs in 1271 a controversy began between the Crown of France and Charles d'Anjou for his lands, but by 1283 it was ruled by the liege courts to revert the County of Poitou, along with almost all lands owned by Alphonse and Jeanne, to the Royal demesne.
That is a great coin Seth with an important place in history. The demise of the Angevin empire in the 13th century is a very interesting time that doesn't get the amount of attention as compared to the later struggle between the French and English crowns. Pleas keep up the posts, I always enjoy reading them and add coins to my want list.
To revive this thread, here is the tournois poitevin minted by Alphonse: AR19mm 1.06g billon denier tournois (299/1000), Montreuil-Bonnin(?) mint, cca. 1248-1250. + ALFVNSVS ' COMES; cross + PICTAVIENTSIS; chateau tournois fleurdelise. Poey d'Avant 2582, cf. Boudeau 431 p. 54. The denier tournois starts being minted in Poitou at the end of the 1240s, very likely on the occasion of the Seventh Crusade, for which Alphonse took great expenditures in order to join and support with his retinue the campaign of Louis IX to Egypt (on October 24th 1249 he was at Damietta). King Louis IX and his brothers Alphonse de France and Robert I d'Artois at Damietta and Al-Mansourah in 1249/50. Originally the coinage was minted at the standard of the Royal tournois of Louis, with the intention to have it circulating at a parity with the Royal coinage during the preparations for the Crusade, but after the mid 1250s the poitevin coinage started to drop in weight and title (a similar situation as with the tournois provencal of Charles I d'Anjou). By 1263, Louis no longer accepted the tournois poitevin or provencal and the types were eventually discontinued in the French realms and pushed east, towards Outremer around 1267, following the Treaty of Viterbo and the Angevin overlordship in the Morea. The present specimen, at a high weight and billon quality, is likely one of the first issues, minted before or during the first phases of the Seventh Crusade to pay for common expenses. The legend ALFVNSVS seems to be the earliest variation (not recorded by Boudeau, possibly by mistake), as by the 1250s it changed to the shorter ALFVNS, the same ortography that would be employed on the poitevin neuf of 1264 (see above).
It took me six months of searching, but I eventually found a denier ou poitevin neuf of Alphonse de France that I really like and was in my price range. If it had not been for the original post by @seth77 I don't know if I would have become aware of this coin type. Thanks for such a great OP Seth! Alphonse Dr France denier ou poitevin neuf 18mm 1.05g Obv: +ALFVNS ' COMES, lys in 3rd quarter. Rev: PIC TAVIE NSIS in the lines
Poitou had some of the best coins in French feudal history. Here is a denier tournois of Philippe V before becoming King of France, as Count of Poitou: A rare coinage struck between 1311 and 1314 possibly at Montreuil-Bonnin, Poey d'Avant 2598, Boudeau 433 p. 54. Very likely made with silver from Melle.
