Douzain Öffentlichkeit Deposited
A billon French coin, which, as its name indicates, was the douzieme or twelfth part of the silver Franc and later the twelfth part of the Ecu. It appears to have been introduced in the reign of Charles VIII (1483-1498), and the general type represents on one side a crowned shield with three fleurs-de-lis, and on the reverse a cross with crowns and fleurs-de-lis in the angles. The issues for Perpignan have a P over the cross, and the Douzain pour le Dauphine has dolphins in the angles. Among the numerous other varieties are the Douzain de Bretagne with the letters R or N on the cross to represent Rennes or Nantes; the Douzain a la Couronne, and the Douzain au porc-epic, the latter with a porcupine under the shield, both of which appeared under Louis XII (1498-1515); the Douzain a la Salamandre issued in the time of Francis I (1515-1547) on which the shield has two crowned Salamanders as supporters; the Douzain a la Croisette of the same monarch, on which the cross appears in a quadrilobe; the Douzain aux Croissants of Henri II (1547-1559), having two interwoven crosses on the reverse; and besides all these there are special issues for Bearn, Navarre, etc. Under Louis XIII specimens occur countermarked with a lis or lily, pursuant to the ordinance of June, 1640.
There is an obsidional Douzain struck for the Low Countries during the French occupation in 1672. See Mailliet, Monnaies obsidionales. 1870 (lii. 9).
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)