Gros Blanque Pubblico Deposited
The name of a silver coin which was struck in France in the fourteenth century, contemporaneously with the Gros Tournois. Originally it was of very pure silver from which circumstance it probably received its name, but the later issues deteriorated in fineness. It was divided into Deniers, the quantity of the latter, however, varied. The general type was that of the Gros, the long cross being a conspicuous feature, and the inscription BENEDICTUM SIT NOMEN DOMINI, etc., giving rise to distinctive titles, all of which will be found under the word Gros, infra.
The Blanque appears in the Anglo-Gallic coinage issued by Henry VI of England. It was a billon groat, silvered over to hide the baseness of the metal. There existed large and small varieties, known respectively as the Grand Blanque or Gros Blanque and the Petit Blanque.
The Blanque was struck in France as late as 1791, in which year the Caisse de Bonne Foi at Paris issued a piece of six Blancs in copper.
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)