Description

This coin is a silver double denier struck at Lyon, then under the authority of the archbishopric, between the mid and late 13th century, approximately circa 1260–1300. It belongs to a period of political transition, spanning from the time of Philip I, Count of Savoy, to that of Henri I de Villars, Archbishop of Lyon.

The obverse bears the legend PRIMA SEDES, referring to the eminent status of the Church of Lyon, regarded as the primary ecclesiastical see of Gaul. The central motif is a large cruciform L, a clear symbol of the city of Lyon, accompanied by a sun and a crescent moon, symbolic elements frequently found in medieval iconography.

The reverse displays the legend GALLIARVM, a reference to the Gauls, surrounding a cross pattée. The sun and crescent moon reappear in the fields of the cross, reinforcing the symbolic coherence of the design.

This coin perfectly illustrates the temporal and spiritual authority of the Archbishopric of Lyon in the 13th century, at a time when the city played a major political, religious, and economic role within the Kingdom of France and beyond.