LOUIS XII* the Father of the People April 8, 1498 - December - Lot 94

LOUIS XII* the Father of the People April 8, 1498 - December 31, 1514 + LVDOVICVS : DEI : GRACIA : FRANCORVM : REX (anchor). Crowned shield of France supported by two porcupines. R/. + XPS: VINCIT: XPC: REGNAT: XPC: IMPERAT (anchor). (punctuated by rings on obverse and reverse). Cross with trifid arms cantoned by two Ls and two porcupines. ♦ Dy 655; Fr 325; Gad-Sb 169 Gold shield with porcupines November 19, 1507. Anchor = Bayonne. (3,44 g) Wide flan. A very fine example. *Louis XII le Père du Peuple was only 13 years old when his father Louis XI died; he was the last king of the Capetian house of Valois. In 1499, he married Anne of Brittany, who died in January 1514. The most important monetary event of his reign was the creation of a heavy silver coin, the "teston", minted in Milan. It bears the king's true portrait, replacing the previous symbols. He adopted the porcupine as his emblem, accompanied by the motto "qui s'y frotte s'y pique" ("he who rubs it, stings it").