Philip II Gros

The Philip II Gros was one of the earliest French coins to standardize weight and purity, helping curb the rampant counterfeiting of the era. That made it a practical tool for a king expanding his domain from Paris to the English Channel.

Struck in silver from mines in the Loire Valley, these coins typically weighed around four grams and featured the king's monogram on one side, with a cross on the other. We don't know the exact mintage figures; records from that period are scarce, likely destroyed in later conflicts. What survives shows variations in design, depending on the workshop—some in Paris, others in provincial towns.

As for the metal, it was often debased with copper, reflecting the economic pressures of crusades and wars. Not every specimen is a rarity, though.

Many end up in collections by accident, dug from fields where they were lost centuries ago.