How the Franc got its Name

There is some uncertainty about how the franc got its name. One might have thought that it derived from the Frankish peoples, who eventually ruled much of Western Europe following the departure of the Romans. But another possibility is that its name is related to the French word franchir, meaning ‘to free’. The person being freed was King John II of France, known as Jean le Bon (John the Good). The first French coin with the name franc, known as the ‘Franc à Cheval’, was minted upon the return of John from captivity in England in 1360 after he had been captured by the Black Prince at the Battle of Poitiers in 1357. The coin was produced to provide the ransom to pay for his release. The Franc à Cheval was nominally 24K (but with a tolerance to 23K 18/32, i.e., an allowed fineness of as low as 990).

It says a lot about the chivalric code of honour that his English captors were quite prepared to allow him to return to France to raise the ransom of 3 million crowns, though he did arrange for his son Louis to take his place as a hostage.

The design of the Franc à Cheval with its rather combative imagery was quite unusual. French kings on earlier coins were generally depicted as peacefully enthroned, with sceptre in hand. Perhaps John was signalling that the battle would be resumed in due course. However, the only thing that the King resumed was his lack of freedom. After raising and paying about one-third of the total ransom, John’s French barons decided that no more should be paid. At about the same time, John’s son Louis escaped from his English captors. Troubled by this double dishonour, John dismayed his people by announcing that he would voluntarily return to captivity in England. His arrival in London was greeted with parades and feasts, and he lived out his days in England with a sequence of banquets and tournaments.

Charming though the above story is, other coin historians have pointed out that the inscription on the coin reads IOHANNES DEI GRATIA • FRANCORV REX (John by the grace of God, King of France), which they suggest may be a more likely explanation of the origin of the word franc.