W. C a r e w H a z l i t t Coinage of the European Continent

394 The Coins of Europe
imposing and beautiful series of moutons, chaises, francs-dclieval,
francs-d-pied, dctis au lion, Jieaumes or lions luaumh
and cavaliers or rijders, which once circulated in this district,
and of which the Dukes of Burgundy adopted only the
substituting English and other models.
lion,
Counts
of Hainault
The numismatic annals of this grand fief, which at one
time was carried by marriage into the house of Flanders,
and eventually shared the destiny of the latter in being incorporated
with Burgundy, cover the normal period between
the tenth and fifteenth centuries, when so many Netherland
and German subordinate states rose and flourished, subject
to ulterior absorption by more powerful neighbours. The
seats of coinage were Mons, Valenciennes, Maubeuge, and
Walincourt, till the reign of Count William III. (1356-89),
when Valenciennes became the sole mint, and we discern the
usual evolution from the primitive denier with a sword, a
raised hand in the act of benediction (denoting clerical influence
or partnership), or other common symbol, into a
currency of the same elaborate and ambitious character as
in Flanders. The same impulse affected the whole of
Western Europe about the first moiety of the fourteenth
century, when commerce began to develop itself, and the old
billon and even silver values no longer sufficed.
The collector may discover many examples deserving
his attention in this series, from the reign of the Countess
Margaret (1244-80) to that of Jacqueline of Bavaria (1417-
27), whose second consort was Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester,
and who was deprived of her possessions by Philip
the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Gold was first struck by
Margaret II. (i 345-56), married to the Emperor Louis of
Bavaria. This princess introduced the florin ; and her successor
William III. (1356-89) added a profuse variety of
other denominations borrowed from France. A later sove-