Replica of Charles IV thick tornesol standard

So-called “denier Tournois”, or tornesol, that was struck from 1266 in Tours during the reign of French king Louis IX (1226–1270), served as an inspiration for the new Czech coin. Several decades later, Charles IV tornesol (1346–1378) was designed by the model of “denier de Tours“. Emperor Charles IV “Tours groschen”, or thick tornesols, were identical with its model in terms of iconography, but they were made of substantially thicker blanks and were heavier. They rank among “thick coins” which are now considered as extraordinary coinage of representative nature. Charles’ thick tornesol had the same reverse as coinage of the Cologne Archbishop Walram count of Jülich (1332–1349). Thanks to this, it is anticipated that the thick tornesol was struck in the mint in Bonn soon after the year 1346. It is a very precious coin.