Tournai (?) in France, ca. 1400-1500 AD.,
Jeton (27 mm / 3,62 g), type à la couronne,
Obv.: (rose) AVЄ * MARIA GRACIA °°° , around crown.
Rev.: G - C - O - Є , in the angles of a decorated cross floral cross with outward ornaments.
Compare with examples 84 and 87 in the Salisbury Museum Medieval Catalogue Part 3 (Saunders ed. 2001) ; http://www.cgb.fr/monnaies/jetons/j20/gb/monnaiesgbbaba.html?depart=372&nbfic=1000 ; http://www.cgb.fr/monnaies/jetons/j20/gb/sommairegbd868.html?sommaire=Jetons%20class%E9s%20par%20types&nbfic=1000 .
from http://www.finds.org.uk:
Reckoning counters (commonly known as jetons) are coin-like objects, usually made of copper alloy, intended to assist in arithmetical calculations, particularly in accountancy, at times when illiteracy was widespread and cumbersome Roman numerals were used to record values and sums of money.
They would normally be used with a checkerboard or cloth, in a process similar to using an abacus. Initially actual coins were used in reckoning, but from the late 13th century special counters were made. They came into general use from the 14th century and continued to be widely used in accounting until the late 17th century, when the spread of Arabic numerals made written calculations much simpler, reducing greatly reliance on manual reckoning.
From the early 15th century France initially was the main supplier for jetons. The city of Tournai was a major manufacturing centre. The stylised designs, such as crowns, the French coat of arms and decorated crosses, used on these imports were based on French coin-types. Religious inscriptions, such as AVE MARIA GRACIA PLENA (Hail Mary, full of grace), were common, but the legends soon became garbled.
Nuremberg took over as the main European centre for jeton manufacture in the 16th century.
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