The artifact presented here is a collection of bronze currency from the Avignon period of the Papacy. It is not clear at what point in that 70 year period this particular coinage was issued.

The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1377, during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon, in France, rather than in Rome. This situation arose because of conflict between the Papacy and the French crown.

It is sometimes referred to as the Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy.

It wasn’t until September 13, 1376, that Pope Gregory XI, influenced by the young Catherine of Siena and others, abandoned Avignon and moved the Papal Court to Rome, arriving on January 17, 1377, officially ending the Avignon Papacy. However, this move back to Rome by Gregory did not end the troubles at that time in history since Rome and the relationship between the cardinals and the Pope were in a state of devastation.