Austrian Netherlands 1712(h) liard
This specimen was lot 1090 in Jean Elsen sale 151 (Brussels, June 2022), where it sold for €420 (about US$525 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT, Duché, Charles VI (1711-1740), empereur du Saint Empire romain germanique, Cu liard, 1712, Anvers. D/ B. dr. et cuir. à g. R/ Monogramme couronné. Rare dans cette qualité. presque Superbe. (duchy of Brabant, Charles VI, 1711-40 as emperor, copper liard of 1712, Antwerp mint. Obverse: draped and armored bust left; reverse: crowned monogram. Rare in this quality, about Extremely Fine.)"
The liard was the smallest denomination and was 1/240 of a ducaton. It was struck at Bruges 1712-13 and at Antwerp (shown here) 1712-16. The SCWC lists some liards struck in Namur by Meximilian Emanuel of Bavaria but none by Charles VI. Charles started out as archduke Charles, pretender to the Spanish throne, but lost English and Dutch support after he succeeded his brother Joseph I as emperor in 1711. He gave up his claim at the Treaty of Utrecht in 1714 and was compensated with Belgium and Milan, both indefensible and an economic drain. Belgium went without coinage until Maria Theresia's reform of 1749.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper, this specimen is 3,22 g.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, W. 1109; V.H. 794.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 151: Collection Paul Witte, Monnaies de Brabant, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2022.
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