Good morning all,
In
James Robert's book
The Silver Coins of Medieval France on page 357, it states, "Heraldic leopards and lions are essentially identical, though the former are customarily depicted passant-gardant (walking with the
head turned), and the latter is often rampant....". The subtitle of this section, which includes your coin is "Leopards of Aquitaine." It goes on to state, "After the English expulsion, the
lion reappeared as a local symbol, like the
dolphin of Dauphine." I would venture to say that your animal would indeed represent a leopard; Jim is a pretty smart fella! I
hope this answers your question to some satisfaction.
Cheers,
David
