1250s, Feudal France, Bishops Valence. Silver "Crusader" Denier Coin. VF-
Denomination: Denier Mint Period: 1250-1300 AD Reference: P d'A 4690, Roberts 4782, Metcalf 19-40, Condition: Deposits, cleaned, otherwise VF! Diameter: 18mm Weight: 0.92gm Material: Silver
Obverse: Stylized winged angel facing. Legend: +VRBS VALENTIA
Reverse: Cross pomme with annulet in fourth quarter. Legend: +S APOLLINARS
Valence deniers were imported in significant quantities and also found in coin hoards from the Crusader possessions in the east. They were the 2nd european coin type beneath the denaro coins of Lucca which were accepted during the crusades. Metcalf suggests that some of the crude variations are in fact eastern imitations of the French issue.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Valence (–Die–Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux) (Latin: Dioecesis Valentinensis (–Diensis–Sancti Pauli Tricastinorum); French: Diocèse de Valence (–Die–Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux) is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in southern France. The contemporary diocese is co-extensive with the department of Drôme.
The Cathedral of Valence was originally dedicated to Saints Cornelius and Cyprianus (Bishops of Rome and of Carthage, both mid-third century martyrs), but in 1095, during his visit to France to rouse up the aristocracy for a Crusade to liberate the Holy Land, Pope Urban II rededicated the cathedral to Saint Apollinaris, one of Valence's sixth century bishops. The Cathedral had fourteen Canons, including a Dean, a Provost, the Archdeacon, a Theologian, and the Abbot of S. Felix.