An agnel, aignel, agnel d'or or mouton d’or (English lamb, gold lamb, gold sheep) was a French gold coin, introduced by

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...

through an ordinance on 24 November 1226. However, the first known examples were struck under

Philip the Fair Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip I from ...

from 26 January 1311 onwards. Agnels were minted in nearby states as well.

John III, Duke of Brabant John III (; 1300 – 5 December 1355) was Duke of Brabant, Duke of Lothier, Lothier (1312–1355) and List of rulers of Limburg, Limburg (1312–1347 then 1349–1355), the last Brabant male to rule them. Biography John was the son of John II, ...

was the first outside of France to mint the coin. After his death his eldest daughter

Joanna, Duchess of Brabant Joanna (24 June 1322 – 1 December 1406) was a ruling duchess of Brabant from 1355 until her death. She was duchess of Brabant until the occupation of the duchy by her brother-in-law Louis II of Flanders. Following her death, the rights to the ...

continued the minting with her husband

Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg Wenceslaus I (also ''Wenceslas'', ''Venceslas'', ''Wenzel'', or ''Václav'', often called Wenceslaus of Bohemia in chronicles) (25 February 1337 – 7 December 1383) was the first Duke of Luxembourg from 1354. He was the son of John of Bohemi ...

. Other copies of the agnel were minted in the

County of Holland The County of Holland was a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire from its inception until 1433. From 1433 onward it was part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading pro ...

Duchy of Guelders The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day Germany. Though the present pr ...

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as ...

and the County of Ligny. The obverse of the coin showed the

Paschal Lamb Paschal Lamb may refer to: * Passover sacrifice (''Korban Pesach''), a Jewish animal sacrifice * Lamb of God, a title for Jesus in Christianity * Paschal lamb (heraldry), a charge used in heraldry See also *Sacrificial lamb A sacrificial lamb ...

or Agnus Dei, which gave the coin its name. The reverse showed a Gothic cross. The last agnels were struck under

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...

in the 15th century.

References

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Sources

*http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b7700432x category:Medieval currencies category:Gold coins category:13th-century establishments category:15th-century disestablishments category:coins of France