FRANCE, Provincial. Lyon, Archidiocèse. Anonymous, circa 1079-1150. Obol (Silver, 19 mm, 0.35 g, 1 h). ✠ PRIMA SEDES around LG under a tilde. Rev. GA-LL-IA-RV Long cross. Boudeau -, cf. 1129 (Denier). Caron -. Duplessy 2536 note. Poey d’Avant -, cf. 5029 (Denier). Exceedingly rare and of great interest. Crinkled flan, otherwise, very fine.


Poey d’Avant assigned coins of this type to the second half of the 11th century on stylistic grounds, whereas Duplessy placed them in the first half of the 12th century. In any case, these early archiepiscopal issues, which omit the king’s name, reflect the beginning erosion of royal authority in favor of ecclesiastical powers such as the archbishops of Lyon (cf. Faustin Poey d'Avant: Monnaies féodales de France, Tome III, Paris 1862, pp. 80f.). This development may also be linked to the elevation of the archbishops of Lyon to the dignity of Primate (primas) of Gaul by Pope Gregory VII in 1079. The legend on our coin proudly proclaims this title.

Neither Bodeau, nor Caron, nor Poey d’Avant were aware of obols from this early archiepiscopal coinage. Duplessy likewise never had the opportunity to examine one of these exceedingly rare obols in person; in his catalog he merely refers to their existence on the basis of a notice by the French numismatist Pierre Lajugie (Jean Duplessy: Les Monnaies Françaises Féodales, Tome II, Paris 2010, p. 223.).