Morea Tournois

These coins from the Frankish Morea were struck using recycled metal, often from melted-down Byzantine coins, turning old empires into pocket change.

That practical reuse meant the tournois deniers circulated widely in the Peloponnese, bearing crude crosses and the names of lords like William of Villehardouin. They came in billon, a low-grade silver alloy that wore quickly in the humid Greek climate. Sizes varied, but most were small, fitting for a region where commerce mixed crusader ambition with local trade.

We don't know exact mintages; records from that era are scarce, likely lost to time or pillage. What survives shows variations in strikes, from clear to blundered, reflecting the makeshift mints in places like Corinth or Clarentza.

One oddity: the coins' designs sometimes echoed French prototypes so closely you'd think the Franks forgot they were in Greece.