ABSTRACT
Upon Philip IV’s accession to the French throne in 1285 the main French currency, the gros tournois, was exchanged for an equivalent of 3.95 grams of silver, very close to its original value of 4.05 in 1266. 1 In 1303, four years before the arrest of the Templars, every gros was exchanged for an equivalent of 1.35 grams of silver. 2 In essence, the value of silver had dramatically increased during that period. This inflation of the precious metal versus the currency, which was also felt in relation to many other goods of consumption, was aggravated due to the practice of debasing the coins, a practice very much employed by Philip IV’s mints. 3 The economic and political implications of this monetary policy had a deep impact on Philip IV’s kingdom, as I shall demonstrate in this paper.
