Kings of France
King Henri III
Coins of King Charles IX of France
Charles IX is rarely shown bearded in his oil portraits while his whiskers are quite shaggy on his coins.
There is thus a very different image of the king that comes from his coins than from his portraits.
The image on this coin looks very much like Charles not Henri:
1575 - with shaggy beard
Thee coin is marked Charles IX, so, King Henri III did not "invent" the "effeminate" ruff collar, for which he was so criticized. Legend has the ruff collar dating to the days of the mignons ca 1578. Such collars would take on outrageous proportions by 1578 : how did they manage to eat in those things ? But here is clear evidence that they were worn as early as 1575.
Note: there was no single mint in France at the time. Each region issued its own coins based on iconography different from other coins of the the same year, i.e. there was no standard image of the king in any given year. So, also in 1575, Charles looks quite different - much like the middle aged Henri III on the latter's coins
1575 - ruff collar
Charles looks almost middle aged above, probably based on his looks at age 23, near the time of his death. His beard is trimmed in the oil portraits but shaggy on his coins. Charles looks