Besançon, Francia
| Posto | Besançon, Francia |
|---|---|
| Vedi anche | Wikidata (Q37776), Wikipedia |
(en)
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the imperial city of Besançon enjoyed the right to mint coins, a privilege granted by Emperor Charles V in 1534. Coin minting was not unknown in the city, as early as the 8th century, Pepin the Short minted coins there. Then, in the 9th century, the king of West Francia, Charles the Bald, granted this regalian right to the Archbishop of Besançon, Arduic. From this archiepiscopal coinage, the so-called "estevenantes" coins have come down to us. The municipal mint took over from the archbishops' coinage, which had fallen into disuse by the end of the 14th century, and produced for nearly a century and a half (from 1537 to 1676) gold and silver coins, medals, honorary coins and tokens. The municipal coinage of Besançon precedes that of the French kings who, after the definitive conquest of the County of Burgundy in 1678, minted royal coins in Besançon until the closure of the mint following an edict in 1772. This Mint reopened during the Revolution; however, its ephemeral production was limited to a few copper coins.
